Back to the Past
by heroofmyownstory
Summary: AU. Ginny wakes up to find herself in the Gryffindor girls' dormitories - which is normal enough, except the date is 1975. Why is she here? Who had sent her here? But most importantly - why does she remember absolutely nothing? (Full description in story.)
1. Chapter 1

_Back to the Past_  
Description: AU. Ginny wakes up to find herself in the Gryffindor girls' dormitories - which is normal enough, except the date is 1975. Why is she here? Who had sent her here? Why does everybody insist she had been going to school with them since their first year? What role do Harry's parents and friends have in all this? But most importantly - why does she remember absolutely nothing?

* * *

 _Chapter One_

 **G** inny woke up with a start. Drenched in sweat, her clothes sticking uncomfortably to her body, heaving as though she had just ran a marathon. She felt furious, she felt hatred – her mind was reeling, trying to remember what had caused her to feel this way. She had no recollection of the events prior to her wake-up, but she had a feeling that whatever happened before it was the reason she was here. As to the feelings – she had no idea what had caused them. Her mind came up absolutely blank when she tried to remember. _It could have been a nightmare_ , she supposed.

She then stopped her furious brainstorming, her fury dissipating, and looked around. She recognized her surroundings very clearly and they gave her a false sense of security. The tapestry, the drapes, the feel of the bed she was sitting on – it was, without a doubt, the Gryffindor girls' dormitory at Hogwarts.

A smile spread across her face. How foolish it suddenly seemed to suspect some tragedy or wrongdoing of any sort when she had obviously just had a nightmare and was unbelievably tired – which is why she couldn't suddenly recall the previous night's events, and her fury and hatred must have been caused by whatever nightmare she had had. A voice in her head told her that was not so, but she chose not to listen to it – where else on Earth could she be? Her hunches had led her astray before. This must have been one of those times again, she thought. She tried to ignore it and go back to sleep, but her hunch only grew stronger and would not let her rest. Eventually, irritated, she sat up and pulled the drapes of her four-poster bed aside and stepped into the room.

The silvery light of the moon that came in through the window lit up the otherwise not too spacious room. She did not even need to use her wand to create light.

At first glance, everything seemed perfectly in order. Her three roommates sleeping, snoring ever so slightly, the drapes drawn so as to block the light coming in through the window – but something didn't feel right. Should she pull the drapes of one of their beds and check who was sleeping in it? She took careful, uncertain steps towards the bed of one of her friends, wondering if she was being paranoid or if she knew something she couldn't suddenly remember that would explain why she was acting the way she was and feeling the things she was… She pulled the drapes, and found a blonde girl sleeping there. She looked familiar at first glance, like an exact replica of one of her year mates, but something wasn't quite right – before she could figure out what, she saw a shadow flitting across the room. Her heart skipped a beat – what on Earth was happening? Who was the girl sleeping in her best friend Carla's bed? Where was Carla? Where was _she_ , Ginny?

She started taking steps towards the place where the shadow had dissipated, wanting to find out as much as possible about the unknown and inexplicable apparition. There was no one else in the room, up and about, moving, just her – everybody else was asleep unaware of the potential danger lurking right beside their beds. She had to investigate; it was much safer than going back to bed and pretending everything was alright when something was clearly amiss. She was mentally preparing herself for the encounter, and several hexes were already on the tip of her tongue. She was only waiting for the opportunity to use them.

There was nothing in the corner where she had seen the shadow disappear. _Where on Earth can it be_?, she wondered. Then she felt something float through her and a chill went down her spine. Her entire body felt suddenly felt frozen. She had for a moment actually thought – or rather hoped – that the shadow had been an illusion, a trick of her mind; anything other than reality. But it was there. It was real. And it was playing with her – at the realization her fury mounted. It lit up her body, it burned the ice that had seemed to freeze her down, making her unable to move, rooting her to the spot – she made her way towards the shadow angrily, her wand at the ready, and said, "Show yourself!"

She could see the fluorescent green eyes and the naughty smile of the creature; the smile froze on its face, hidden in the dark, when she saw Ginny fearlessly approaching. She marched towards it like a warrior with nothing to lose but everything to gain. She opened her mouth to hex him when the door opened with a loud bang, and the shadow and Ginny instinctively turned to look to see what the source of the unexpected noise was. She saw the faces and torsos of two boys that were at the same time reminiscent of two people she knew but at the same time, somehow, completely different – the realization shocked her and before she could turn back to deal with the shadow, she saw that it had used the opportunity to flit out the window. She was seething with rage at her own slowness and the boys' interruption.

"What was _that_?" the bespectacled boy asked, fixing his round glasses on the bridge of his nose. Ginny stared at him, a completely different kind of dread then before washing over her. The boy looked just like… just like… she gulped hard, dreading to imagine the implications of her current discovery. Her mind was reeling.

"Yeah, Ginny, what was that?" the other, considerably more handsome boy asked, looking straight at the redhead. The girl's eyes widened, her heart skipped a beat, and she was frozen in shock, looking at the two boys as though they were ghosts –

"Cat got your tongue?" the handsome boy asked playfully. His tone, his demeanor, the way he looked at her seemed to suggest that they had known each other since forever, and harbored close ties.

"S-Sirius?" she asked, feeling a bead of cold sweat trickle down her head. Her body felt warm in contrast.

"Yeah?" she asked when she finally got to her senses.

She did not need to ask who the other one was to know.

She felt sick. Her mind was reeling, she felt dizzy, about to drop to the floor in shock and exhaustion – where the hell was she? What the hell was happening? "Take me to Dumbledore," she said.

"What?" James Potter demanded. "Why would you ever wanna go there?"

"Could you three shut up?" a deep, irritated female voice demanded.

The three of them turned in the direction of the voice and Ginny discovered its source to be the blonde girl, the drapes of whose bad she had drawn to take a peek at her. Ginny suddenly knew why the blonde had seemed familiar and unfamiliar at the same time – she looked just like Romilda Vane, expect with a less prominent chin and softer, gentler features and much, much lighter hair. Her voice was as aggressive and assertive as her – she was scared to think about it – her future daughter's.

"No, sorry, we can't," James said, and Sirius sniggered. _What a bunch of brats,_ Ginny thought irritably. Thank God Harry had never acted so immaturely. It was part of why she had – before she could finish her train of thought, however, James's impatient voice snapped her out of her reverie.

"Come on," the boy said in what Ginny considered to be a whiny, imploring tone. "Let's go to the kitchens! We're bored!"

"Go then and be bored without me," Ginny said snappishly.

"Don't be so mean," James said mockingly. Ginny felt uncomfortable. _This is Harry's father_ , the thought registered in her brain but the fact's implications have not yet, at least not in their entirety. "You know you love us," he continued, ever so cheerfully. Ginny felt the sudden urge to strangle him – how could they be so happy when she was experiencing the greatest shock in her life?

"OK, quit whining, you git," Ginny snapped, pissed at their condescending tone of voice, or at least what she imagined to be condescending. The two boys sniggered in appreciation as though they appreciated insults more than compliments – not just when it came to others, but themselves as well.

 _Boys,_ Ginny thought, rolling her eyes. _Treat them like dirt and they'll stick to the bottom of your shoe._ "OK, I'll keep it down," she said, turning back to the blonde girl. The girl was just grinning at her as though she thought Ginny was some sort of great heroine for talking back to the boys. How was that some sort of big accomplishment?, Ginny wondered, shaking her head at the girl's behavior internally.

She wondered who this girl really was. What all this really was. She was still half-heartedly hoping that this was some practical joke, or a bad dream and everything could easily be fixed as soon as the one responsible for this realized his error and tried to make it right. However, in her heart of hearts, she knew that she was only setting herself up for severe disappointment, holding out for an easy way out.

"I'm coming," Ginny then said, turning back to the boys. She needed to calm down, slow down her furiously reeling mind and suppress the emotions of panic and desperation threating to take over her, and figure out what was going on. Everything was incomprehensible; instead of trying to solve the mystery, however, she opted for another strategy. Going with the flow, and hoping to have the mystery of where she was, what she was doing here, unfold along the way. She could not think of any other way to solve her current situation. She was not Hermione –

 _Hermione. Whom I will never see again. Whom I will never talk to again…_

 _NO!_

 _Enough thinking about her. I have a mission to accomplish, and that is my best bet if I want to go back to the world I came from._

She summoned all her willpower to shake away the negative emotions threatening to ruin her mission, forced a cheery, confident smile on her face and climbed under the Cloak with the three boys.

* * *

A/N: What do you think? Waiting to hear your opinions.


	2. Chapter 2

_Chapter Two_

 **A** s soon as she did, Ginny's uncomfortableness reached never before known levels. She felt as dirty; she knew the boys were - judging by the way their appearance - the same age as her, and they did not know her as Molly Weasley's daughter or Ron's little sister, but it still felt awkward and wrong to get under the same cloak as them. To be so close to them. The air under the Cloak was uncomfortably hot and they kept bumping into each other; the Cloak was obviously too small for three teenagers.

When she was able to get her mind off the wrongness of the situation, she noticed the boys were practically leering at her. The twosome was giggling under their breaths, like nervous children carrying out their first so-considered (at least by them) big scheme. Ginny had no patience for this kind of behavior - she was tired, confused, angry, paranoid, and she felt disrespected.

"OK, what the hell is going on!?" she demanded, grabbing the Cloak and tearing it off of the three of them. "What the hell is going on!?" she was furious, and had already whipped out her wand and was preparing to hex them.

She did not tolerate such juvenile behavior. The only reason she put up with Ron was because he was her brother – sadly, not sadly, it was just the way it was, and one was more permissive when it came to their relatives. However, neither James nor Sirius shared a familial bond with her, so they were the rule, not the exception; she did not have to tolerate their demeanor if she did not want to.

"Who-ah," James said, putting up his arms in mock-defense. "What are you doing?"

"Expelliarmus!" Ginny snapped, having noticed from the corner of her eyes that Sirius was getting out his wand from the back pocket of his jeans, preparing to hex her. "Don't even think about it," she said, then turned back to James. "Petrificus Totalus!" she cried when she saw James trying to do the same. _Two against one is not the least bit fair,_ Ginny thought irritably.

"What the hell is going on here?" she demanded, having lost all her patience. "Where are you taking me? What do you want?"

"Merlin's beard, Ginny – what's up with you today?" Sirius was grinning mischievously, as though somehow he still had the upper hand.

"I'll tell you everything if you tell me what's going on," she said.

"Why don't you undo the curse you put on Prongs first, so we can both talk-"

"Why don't you shut up-"

"And here I thought you wanted me to talk-" Sirius said with a cocky grin that put Ginny over the edge.

" _Permuto_!" Ginny said, and his bogies turned into bats and started attacking Sirius. "Ouch! Ow!" Sirius cried. Ginny smiled in smug satisfaction before draping the Invisibility Cloak over her and disappearing through the Portrait Hole. She could hear Sirius's outraged and pained cries, but she did not care. She was tired, exhausted, and quite frankly even a tiny bit paranoid. Only a few moments after the ordeal did she realize that she might have been a bit harsh on them. But no – the boys had been rude _first._ They deserved it. They had it coming; they were practically begging to be put in their places, and that's exactly what she had done.

Except, she knew she would normally just ignore this sort of behavior because she knew perfectly well that it was not up to her to redeem the gits of the world. She would not waste time on such a lowly sort. However, she did hex them when they passed her boundaries.

It was just that her threshold of tolerance was a lot higher normally. However, the strange situation, the fear, the stress were all effecting her. Suddenly she feared that if she stayed in this incomprehensible world for too long, she would go insane.

She needed to find Dumbledore _immediately._

* * *

She had never sneaked out after bedtime before. It felt strange, it felt weird – it was not, given the circumstances, as exhilarating and heart-stopping as she had always imagined it to be. Moreover, she could not seem to find her way; it may have been the nerves, her overactive imagination, or whatever else, but she was under the impression that the castle wasn't quite built the way as the castle of her memories. _This was a whole new Hogwarts_ , Ginny thought with a hard gulp. _No. No. Maybe your memories are just foggy. You're tired, exhausted, and you've been through an ordeal. Concentrate on the task at hand. Solving this mystery is your only possible relief._

She had to be firm with herself. Her mind, as her father had often said, could either be her worst enemy or her greatest servant. Up until now, she had not been quite sure what he had meant. Now Ginny thought she understood; a part of you could turn against you unless you controlled it with an iron fist. It was a scary thought that not only did one have to protect themselves of others but their own selves; a usually hidden, darker part of themselves. It was chilling to think she even had a side like that. So far, she had thought that the world was divided between evil and good; now she knew it was much more complex than that. Her mother had always said that there is a bad wolf and a good wolf inside of us; the one you feed is the one that grows.

Now, she would not feed negative thoughts by giving her attention to them or giving into them. She would control them, and only feed positive thoughts and feelings with her attention.

 _This is going to be a hard task_ , she thought.

Finally, somehow, after much wandering, she finally arrived at the Headmaster's Office. The two familiar stone gargoyles lulled her into a false sense of security. It felt as though she was just minutes away from being restored to her rightful place, her own world. However, she was not fully convinced of this fact; how pointless would whatever magic be that had sent her back if it could be reversed so easily. However, she had to believe. And the Headmaster would definitely help. Just seeing Dumbledore, feeling his omniscient and serene presence would have a calming and reassuring effect on her that no other person's presence could. However, she didn't know the password. What was it the last time…? On the offchance that it was the same… Ginny revealed her presence, taking off the Cloak, and said to the stone gargoyles, "Lemon powder."

The gargoyles blinked in surprise at the unexpected guest's apparition, and even more surprised that she had gotten the password right, "Come in." Ginny climbed in through the newly formed entrance, her heart beating in her chest, feeling the blood pump in her veins – this is it – with each step she took upwards on the spiral staircase leading to the Headmaster's Office, she was closer to reaching her goal. Excitement washed over her, re-energizing her. She hadn't felt this fresh, this healthy and happy in longer than she could remember. She ran up the remainder of the steps to enter the Headmaster's office; what she saw there made her blood freeze and her overjoyed train of thought come to a sudden halt.

There were two people in the Headmaster's Office; McGonagall and Dumbledore, more specifically their younger versions, but that was not the most shocking part of the scene that lay ahead of her. For it was McGonagall sitting behind the Headmaster's Desk instead of Dumbledore.

* * *

The two adults looked irritated by her interruption - they must have been talking about something of utmost importance, Ginny assumed-, but she was too frozen in shock to even excuse herself. She opened her mouth several times but closed it each time because she found herself unable to utter a single word. "S-sorry," she said at last, her eyes still wide with shock.

"What happened, Miss Weasley?" Dumbledore asked with a twinkle in his eye and a half-smile; it was like he was in one on some big secret with her that Ginny did not know. Ginny blinked hard in response. The Dumbledore she knew did not care about her existence whatsoever. What…? How…? She was going crazy.

"I need… I need to…" The world was spinning with Ginny. It was all too much to take in. She could not even express everything that had happened since her wake up - it all seemed so surreal, and she felt as though she ought not to say it for some reason. Nothing made any sense whatsoever. Perhaps her hunches were leading her astray again as they had so often done in the past. She had no idea. It was all too much for her brain to take in. "I need to lie down…" she muttered weakly at last. She felt nauseous, and fought hard to not vomit. She took a few deep calming breaths and for a moment she thought she had regained control over herself. But the illusion was only temporary. "I'm not…" but before she could finish her sentence, the world went dark.

The next thing she remembered was waking up in yet another setting that reminded her of something she knew but did not look exactly like it. She opened her eyes, her head feeling heavy, her vision blurry. When her eyesight slowly cleared, she realized where she was. She was in the Hospital Wing, or at least, in an earlier version of it. She was barely able to move. She sat up groggily, massaging the back of her head, the world still spinning with her as she did so. She felt nauseous again, and saw from the corner of her eye that a metal bucket had been placed beside her bed just for this reason. She bent over and threw up into it. She could not help it, she reasoned. She started crying. Where was she? Why on Earth was she here? She felt chilled to the bone, hopeless, and alone. Her tears mixed with vomit as they hit the bottom of the bucket. She felt disgusting. She did not notice the shadow looming over her bed.

"Good morning, Cinderella," a sarcastic voice said suddenly.

Ginny froze. She looked up slowly, dreading who she might find at the edge of her bed. She screamed out loud when she saw who the voice belonged to.

"M-Mom!"

Ginny recognized the young woman standing in front of her clearly from old family albums. There stood the younger version of her mother with her curly, light red hair, narrowed, bright brown eyes, and a stern expression that looked considerably less threatening on her young face, but certainly still threatening enough.

Ginny had only known the version of her mother that was worn out after six children, poverty, and working non-stop; the girl who stood in front of her was strikingly beautiful. Before, when her relatives had insisted that the resemblance between Ginny and Molly was uncanny, she had felt slightly irritated. Now, she felt flattered. The young woman who stood in front of her was strikingly beautiful.

"Just your sister, but I might as well be!" Molly snapped.

"What?" Ginny felt like crying again. She had not signed up for this. She wanted out of this. Why was everyone being so hostile? Why couldn't…?

"Where were you again? Snuck up to the Headmistress's office and threw up on her carpet? I have been _telling_ Mom that you're the embarrassment of the family!"

Ginny instinctively went on the defensive. "Oh, I'm sorry – how could the embarrassment of the family do this then?" she reached for her wand on the bedside table but by the time she grabbed it, Molly had already approached her, and was now standing dangerously close to her, her wand drawn and pointed at her future daughter and now – sister!?

"What are you doing?" Ginny asked. She felt extra threatened, because it was her mom; she knew it was not, but it still felt like it. She would have no problem hexing one of her brothers, even their much younger versions, but her mother was an altogether different matter. Her mother was the one that gave her life, she was delicate, fragile, and womanly – at least to her… but this Molly seemed to have no maternal feelings for her. Ginny gulped.

"Molly!" a pompous male voice yelled. Both of them turned in the direction of the voice and the noise of the approaching footsteps. _Oh, no,_ Ginny thought when she realized who was making all the noise.

"James," Molly said, smiling, blushing, brushing her hair behind her ears.

"Huh?" Ginny said, her eyes going wide in disbelief. The mother she knew would never endorse the kind of behavior Harry's father and friends obviously engaged in…

Then Molly's face went red with anger as though she just remembered that the boys were interrupting when they should mind their own business. " _You_ are the reason she's turned bad! You have a bad influence on her!" she announced shrilly, pointing a finger at Ginny. _Surprisingly,_ Ginny thought, _she is turning maternal now._ She felt a bit warm inside despite the circumstances.

James just grinned condescendingly and Ginny could feel them getting under her skin. _What a bunch of baffoons_ , she thought angrily. She looked at Sirius, the loving, mature godfather that she would later come to know – what was wrong with him _now_? She stared at him accusatorily but he just grinned in return.

"Ginny!" yelled a concerned female voice. It was familiar, but this time Ginny didn't get her hopes up. _It must be someone's mother_ , she thought, thoroughly annoyed with this world. However, she slowly turned her head in the direction of the voice, mimicking the others. Her jaw dropped when she realized who the owner of the voice was -

For at the edge of her bed, between Molly and the boys, stood her best friend Hermione Granger, with her fuzzy, large brown hair and eyes, her cheeks reddned, panting as though she had just ran a marathon.

"It's a busy day in the Hospital Wing, eh?" Molly said irritably, shaking her head.

* * *

A/N: Thank you for your reviews for the previous chapter! Looking forward to hearing your opinions for this one!

Constructive criticism, praise - anything is welcome. **I review back.**

Have a nice day! :)


	3. Chapter 3

_Chapter Three_

 **H** er best friend's appearance was the last thing she had expected to happen but everything she had hoped for. However, she reminded herself before she got too excited, that this may have been some twisted version of Hermione, not the one she had grown to love and care for. However, she would have much preferred to be with Hermione than any of the gathered "visitors."

"Hermione!" she cried.

Hermione blinked hard. Her other visitors looked at her as though she had gotten a concussion. " _Marlene,_ " she said. "My name is Marlene."

Ginny's face dropped. She let herself fall back on the bed. "Oh, good," she said sarcastically. " _Marlene_. So glad you're here," she snapped.

"Actually, you should be," Hermione snapped right back. "I know what happened to you yesterday,"

Ginny sat up on the bed. Could it be possible…?

"You do?" James said. "You know what got her acting like a Confounded psycho? She stole my _Cloak_ yesterday."

"Your _cloak_?" Molly demanded, obviously not knowing what kind of cloak they were talking about. Ginny found it funny James had managed to keep it a secret despite seemingly being in constant need of showing off. "Who wears a cloak these days?"

"Can you all please leave?" Hermione snapped. "Ginny needs to lie down and be left alone. She's had a very rough night yesterday,"

"That's what she said," James said and left sniggering with his friends. Hermione rolled her eyes and then turned to Molly. "What? Me too? I am her _family_ -"

Hermione said, "Alright, Molly, please, Ginny doesn't need you to yell at her. She needs to recover. She has been through a lot,"

"Would you tell me what!? I am her _sister-_ " Molly seemed truly concerned and aghast that she was not being told the truth about who she thought was her sister. She was obviously worried about Ginny despite her previous display of animosity. Maybe it was just the way Molly loved at this age before old age made her grow soft. But then again, relationships between siblings were always more strained than between parent and child.

"Yes, Molly, you are her sister," Hermione said. "And I am her _best_ _friend_." She said that as though that meant more than a familial bond. Obviously the declaration had some truth to it, or at least Molly thought so, judging by her actions; first she looked at Ginny in desperation as though waiting for her to send her bossy friend away and have a heart to heart between sisters; Ginny blinked back in surprise, and before she could react, Molly had already turned away, her cheeks as red as her hair, then, huffing, offended, strutted out of the Hospital Wing. Ginny suddenly felt as though she truly had hurt her sister. Then she mentally slapped herself. _That is not your sister, that is your mother,_ she reminded herself firmly. Or was it truly her mother? Maybe she had gone crazy. Maybe last night had just been a crazy episode and now she was beginning to find her way back to normalcy. It was scary how it was easy to slip into this role… no war, no Prophecy, just bubbly happiness, the unbearable mediocrity of being a teen, with all its ups and downs, without anything particularly bad or anything particularly good happening… at least for now..., she reminded herself.

 _These people are going to die,_ Ginny thought. _These people are going to die very young._

Or are they? This was a completely different world…

"Ginny," Hermione said, sitting down on the white metal chair beside her bed. Ginny looked at her, ready to be let down again. How could this Marlene girl look so much like Hermione?

"It's me," she said, whispering conspiratorially, as though this was a great secret that no one else could hear. "I'm Hermione. Hermione Granger. I'm from the same world as you… or at least I think. Tell me about yours."

Ginny sat up in her bed, looking at Hermione as though she had seen a ghost. She was just beginning to slip into her newfound but all the more comfortable role, and then there came the girl who pretended to be someone name Marlene reveal this to her… What on Earth was going on?

She decided to go with it. What could she lose? She did not understand anyway. She did not even care if she wound up dead, if this was a trick, without her friends and family, torn out of the world that she loved despite all its flaws, she was nothing, and she did not care. The only thing that kept her grounded and holding out for more was the flimsy hope that she might one day return. She was beginning to give up just when Hermione had appeared…

"O-or you're not?" Hermione asked blinking in embarrassment. "I'm so sorry then-"

"No," Ginny said. "I'm not from here. At least I think so… I have vague memories, but they are fading…" as she said that, she realized she really could not recall any particular memory from her previous life, she only had vague images she suddenly could not really place.

"They're disappearing. Your memories," Hermione said, nodding understandingly. "Mine are too. I wrote down all that I can remember. I have to remind myself that's who I really am," she whispered conspiratorially, her eyes dancing and alive with intelligence. Ginny thought Her –Marlene seemed to be really in her element. Which was weird for her, she was normally not so… "Ginny! Ginny, snap out of it!" her eyes must have been glazing over, or the fact that she was someplace completely different mentally must have been evident on her face because Marlene started snapping her fingers in front of her face impatiently. Irritated, Ginny turned her attention back to Marlene. "Ginevra Molly Weasley! Focus!"

"My middle name is not Molly," Ginny said; her voice sounded mechanical to her, as though she was not in complete control of herself anymore. Truth be told, she was dying to lie down and get a little rest, she felt exhausted from all the mental gymnastics the past hours ever since her wakeup in the dormitory have been… the dormitory! Suddenly she remembered everything.

The hatred. The anger. All that she had felt upon her arrival. Now it made sense! The wiping of her memories must have caused all the anger, and the hatred must have been directed at the person making her go through this unimaginable and indescribable ordeal. But… but… she did not want that to be true… that meant that her troubles were only beginning, not ending… but if she slipped into the skin of whatever Ginny Weasley was here, then they would… she could be happy… at least temporarily…

But no! She was no coward. She was no weakling. She would not choose the easy way out.

"Hermione," Ginny said firmly, interrupting whatever monologue she had been reciting, and Ginny had been too tired to fully appreciate and pay attention to. "I need to sleep right now." she grabbed the surprised girl by the shoulders, "Please. If I ever, ever deny who I really am – Ginevra Molly Weasley –, don't let me forget. Don't let me forget who I am really. Please." her voice was pleading and the sides of her brown eyes glistened with tears. "I want to remember."

Hermione, shocked by Ginny's emotional display, nodded. "Alright. Alright, I will do that." she promised her eyes full of sincerity and tenderness.

And then the world went blank.

* * *

Hours later, Ginny woke up, feeling energized and determined. When she awoke, Hermione was no longer – she realized the sun was already going down. It must have been around 5 o clock, given the season; judging by the amount of snow outside, the year was well into winter. Ginny gulped. Her last memories were from August… that means that this ordeal had already cost her several months and she had only been here for a day. Her mind threatened to explode with all the incomprehensible information she was in possession of, but she steeled herself. Hermione. Hermione was there. But something didn't feel right about this Hermione. Something felt fishy. Why didn't she have her own identity? Why was she someone else? Why did she start looking completely different when Ginny did not concentrate?

Despite her friend's apparition, she felt as alone as ever. In the presence of people that were supposed to be close to her but she could not trust, she felt more alone than in actual solitude. I'm being too suspicious, Ginny told herself firmly. She could not do everything alone – only a truly foolish person would think they were omnipotent and omniscient, she thought. She needed allies, she needed friends, and Hermione had proved herself a great partner on countless occasions before.

She looked at the magnificent, beautiful sunset and the grounds – they looked so familiar, but so different. The atmosphere of the world she had now become part of was so much more peaceful, so much happier than the one she had been part of at home. Only now did she realize it when she was ripped out of it and placed in a different setting how dark and forlorn the world she had come from was. She had had no means of comparison before. This place was… Heaven. She did not want to leave; but she could not abandon everyone and everything in her past for comfort. It went against the code of honor she believed in and aspired to live by.

She missed Harry. The realization dawned on her as soon as her mind was no longer preoccupied by the mysteries of the world – Hermione would deal with that; that was her forte after all. Ginny was more of a doer, while in comparison at least Hermione was more of an analyst. Their alliance was bound to be fruitful to say the least in undertaking the challenge this world meant to them.

She sighed. Harry, Harry… the brave, shy, proud, kind-hearted hero she had come to love… where was he now, what was he doing?

Then the thought of him disappeared and her heart was gripped with sorrow and desperation she had never before imagined herself to be capable of feeling. She had thought herself much tougher than that. But her family was her weakness. It meant the world to her. Despite all their differences, their quarrels, they meant the world to her. Her loving mother… her doting father… her silly, irritating, but protective brothers… the thought of never seeing them again as she had come to know and love them scared her. She would die alone. She would die without a family if she stayed here.

The Molly she had seen today was nothing like her mother – in fact, Molly was not her mother here, but her sister. It made shivers run down her spine. It was… peculiar, weird, and even though she felt like the Ginny here loved Molly, it felt… she did not know how she felt about it exactly, but she thought it was sick and twisted to have her mother transform into her sister one day after another. It was like one of the pillars of her life had been taken from under her. It felt disconcerting. She shook her head. She tried to suppress the Ginny of this world, to be able to concentrate on the Ginny she truly was. Or was she? She was no longer able to decide which Ginny was the real one, because they both felt equally real to her. But she would not choose the easy way out, she decided. Choosing the easy way out was certainly not her; she was sure of that like nothing else.

She suddenly became aware of a shadow behind her. The same chilling feeling she had had on the night of her arrival to this world washed over her again. She suspected that the shadow was the same as the one on the night of her arrival. She turned back on her heels, wand drawn, and started walking towards the shadow. "Hey," a voice suddenly said and she swore she could hear the creature's derisive cackle as it flitted out the window again. She turned irritably to the interrupting person only to realize that it was Mar – Hermione, and her anger subsided. "Hermione," she said.

"Call me Marlene," Hermione said. "We should pretend as best as we can to be the people's whose bodies we are now possessing so as not to arouse suspicion. We should not reveal who we truly are until we know what's going on,"

"Why?"

Hermione looked around suspiciously. She put an arm around Ginny's shoulders and started leading her out of the Hospital Wing, "It's so empty here," she whispered. "Anyone could overhear. Let's go somewhere else."

"The Room? The DA room?" she asked. Hermione seemed to consider it then nodded. "But let's be careful not to miss the feast, OK? We have been acting suspiciously enough anyway as it is,"

Ginny nodded. She would always listen to Hermione.

* * *

Hermione led her to the Room in corridors Ginny had never seen before. "I broke the rules a lot of times with Harry and your brother," she said. "Don't look at _me._ " Ginny laughed. Being reminded of their old life together was calming. It assured her that she was not going crazy. It was a more than pleasant feeling to have a friend.

Ginny and Hermione almost managed to get into the Room unseen when, at the last minute, they were accosted by James and Sirius, "Ginny! McKinnon!" The two girls froze in their tracks and slowly, trembling from extreme irritation, turned back to see the two boys, looking as smug as ever. They were, as per usual, accompanied by their two faithful and loyal lackeys, Peter and Remus.

 _Professor Lupin,_ Ginny thought and seeing him so young and so _weak_ compared to the man he later became was disconcerting. It turned her entire world upside down. This was why it was best not to be aware of a teacher's private life, present or past. He would lose all the authority he had as an authority figure.

"Ginny," James said, looking pleading. For once he was not whizzing around like the hyperactive kid he was. This time he seemed serious. "We need _it_ back. Like now. Is it true that McGonagall has it?" He was ever so careful not to tell what exactly it was he needed. He actually seemed threatening, accompanied by his three best friends; there were four of them, and two of them. But Hermione and Ginny had gone through things these four boys did not even experience in their wildest nightmares, could not imagine or comprehend; they did not need to be afraid of four overconfident boys who had not seen the bad side of the world as much as they had. They had much more experience in combat, anyway.

Ginny went red, however; she had completely forgotten about the Cloak and felt silly and embarrassed about losing such a valuable magical artifact, especially since she knew the value it held to Harry. She, despite herself, felt a little sorry for James Potter and stammered in response, "Well… Well…" She did not want to answer to them however – who were they to her, really?

"She has it," Hermione lied quickly. She seemed so confident even Ginny believed for a second. Then, trusting Hermione, she decided to play along.

"Yeah, I do," she affirmed.

"Cool, so when can we get it back?" James asked calmly, kindly.

"Not yet," Hermione said. "We're working on a prank."

"You too, McKinnon?" Sirius stared at her as though she had grown an extra nose. "Wow, I would have never thought-"

"Alright, alright," Ginny said. "You'll get it back. When I'm done with it."

"Alright," James said, mimicking her voice, but it did not feel hostile, "But it's kinda mine. So if you've lost it, you know we can help you-"

"No," Hermione said. "That'll be fine. She did not lose it. She has it, and she'll give it back to you."

"I kinda want it back tonight," James went on. "So-"

"I'll give it back to you tonight," Ginny snapped. "Relax."

"What are you doing with it?"

"You'll see," Ginny said with a wink and a mischievous smile; James stared at her with a lovestruck expression on his face before nodding and saying, "Cool, so you coming to dinner right now? I'm starving-" his tone was kinder, gentler, almost flirtatious –

Ginny felt scared and nauseated at the same time. This – she did not want – she did not want this happening, she did not want the father of the love of her life to have any sort of romantic affections for him –

Hermione looked at Ginny smugly before grapping her wrist and starting to drag her away impatiently – but James was resilient –

"Really? You would rather hang out with her than us?" James demanded.

Ginny, not knowing what came over her, freed her wrist from Hermione's grasp and rushed over to the boys. Giving Hermione a mischievous, disrespectful smile, said, "I'll come later. We can have all those serious conversations later. Right now, it's the time for fun,"

Hermione stared at her incredulously. "Ginny, what is-" then she went quiet and smiled. "Ginny, you told me to remind you if you ever forget-"

Ginny had a vague memory of that but she brushed it aside because she no longer agreed with it. "Great, so now you reminded me," Ginny said, and the boys laughed. "You can go now."

Hermione looked furious. "Fine," she said. "Go then." Her voice was strained with repressed anger.

Ginny felt bad for a second before shrugging it off and making her way down the staircases with the boys, laughing and joking. She did not even remember who Hermione was a second later.

* * *

A/N: If you like this story - or even just have any thoughts concerning it - please let me know. I am partially here for the feedback, otherwise I would not put it online and would just keep it to myself! Thank you so much if you do. Oh, and don't forget, if you have stories, I review back! ;) Please please reviewww


	4. Chapter 4

_Chapter Four_

 **I** n the middle of the feast, whatever had possessed Ginny was suddenly gone. Her previous fire seemed to go out from a cold breeze and she was left feeling glacial, sullen, and all alone. What had happened?, she wondered. She remembered everything that had happened so far vaguely, which scared her since they had only happened less than an hour ago. It was still better than not remembering anything, the way she had when she first arrived – but a wave of panic washed over her nonetheless. She needed to find Hermione and explain everything to her. She had disrespected, mistreated and offended her friend; she needed to make amends, even though it didn't really feel like she had been the one to do that. It felt as though a sort of alter ego had taken over her when she had acted that way with the boys and Hermione. Maybe… maybe she was going crazy already!

But no. She was sane. Something had taken over her… perhaps that infuriating, demonic shadow she had seen on the walls – God, she really hoped not…

"Excuse me, I have to go," Ginny said.

"Oh… OK," James said uncertainly.

The bespectacled boy looked at her with surprise and even a tingle of disappointment in his large hazel eyes, which Ginny decidedly ignored. She did not want to deal with this, so for the time being, she would pretend he harbored no romantic feelings towards her, and hoped for hope's sake that she was just imagining things. Where was Harry's mother, anyway?

"Where do you have to go, though?" James asked; she felt like he was suffocating her emotionally. What did he care? What business of his was it where she went? They had _nothing_ to do with each other. He sent shivers down her spine in the worst way possible – one moment he was a fiery ram, the other he was a placid little fish happily swimming in the sea. What was it called – bipolar disorder?

"Shut up, Prongs, she obviously has to go to the loo," Sirius said and the others burst out laughing.

 _Normal human functions are so funny,_ Ginny thought, rolling her eyes. _And it's not even what I'm going to do anyway._ Then set out to find Hermione, wherever she was sitting in the Great Hall, her conscience eating away at her. She stood up, flipping her hair in Sirius's face "accidentally," saying sorry without the slightest hint of contriteness in her voice, then left without another word.

"What's with her?" Sirius asked irritably, unable to control his emotions; she was still within earshot when he had said that, but he probably didn't notice or thought she was no longer paying attention to them. But he was a little _too_ loud to be ignored.

"Apparently something happened with her that night – Marlene said so-" Remus said.

 _Gossipy Professor Lupin_ , Ginny thought. This all felt so… so wrong! These were her teachers, her parents, and now seeing them as teenagers like her completely deconstructed the image she had had of them, and it made her sick. She did not want to see them like this! She did not want to get to know who they were at this age. She was the child, they were the adults… at least, that's the way it was supposed to be.

As she walked around the Great Hall, looking for Hermione, she suddenly bumped into a very attractive girl with dark red shoulder-length hair with vivid green eyes and Ginny had to catch her breath. She would have recognized those beautiful green eyes anywhere. The red-haired girl glared at her angrily, and her two lackeys sniggered as Ginny gaped at her.

"What, never seen a Pureblood before?" she sneered. "One that doesn't hang around with riff-raff and run around in hand-me-downs?"

"Evans! Evans, wait!" a female voice yelled nearby but Ginny could only concentrate on the red-head in front of her.

She could not help it; she was gaping. Was this some ancient ancestor of Harry's or…? She thought Harry's mother had been a Muggleborn… but… then again, why was she surprised at anything anymore? The girl's "friends," or rather lackeys as Ginny thought of them, laughed out loud. "Look how she's gaping! She's so dumb! She looks like a fish! So pathetic!" they whispered loudly behind their palms.

Before Ginny could react, the owner of the previously heard female voice caught up with them. She now stood right behind Lily, brown hair a mess as always, panting, her cheeks pink from running, her eyes desperate. It was Hermione. "Evans, would you please listen to me-"

"I don't have time for you, McKinnon," Evans said. "Besides, you should probably take care of your best friend right here," she went on, turning to Ginny with a malevolent smile on her face. "She looks like she had a concussion," Her lackeys giggled again and before Hermione could say another word, she left, flipping her hair in Ginny's face, her friends still laughing. It was like agreeing with this Evans was their only function as human beings. Disgusted, Ginny turned back to Hermione. "Who's this _cow_?" she demanded.

"That – that's Lily Evans," Hermione said. "Harry's mother."

"What?" Ginny said, aghast.

"Come on," Hermione said, grabbing Ginny impatiently, even a little roughly, by the arm. Ginny repressed a yelp of pain, and tore her arm out of Hermione's grasp. "Before you get possessed again," Hermione went on.

Possessed… the world lingered around in the recesses of Ginny's mind long after Hermione had said them. Possessed… was that what she had been?

* * *

In the Room of Requirement, Ginny and Hermione sat in a room that much resembled the DA's headquarters.

"I _need_ this to keep me sane," Hermione explained why the Room looked the way it did. Her voice was determined, but her brown eyes glistened with sadness.

"I need this too," Ginny said, smiling gladly because she was glad she had found a partner more than she was sad to be ripped out of her own world. Then Hermione abruptly burst out crying. She buried her face in her hands, her back slumped, and she shook uncontrollably as she sobbed loudly. Ginny clambered out of the couch she had been sitting in, and sat down beside Hermione on the floor and put an arm around her and started caressing her back comfortingly. "I – I'm sorry," Hermione said. "But I have been here for a week before you! I thought I would – I would go insane! But luckily – luckily I have a photograph of Harry, Ron and I-" at that point her eyes lit up. She wiped the snot from her nose with her hand ("I'll clean that later," she said upon seeing Ginny's expression, though Ginny did not care she was just surprised to see Hermione act this way). She then fished out a rumpled photograph from her jeans pocket and happily shoved it under Ginny's nose.

On the photo the trio stood next to each other, laughing, smiling, and even someone who didn't know them would have been able to tell that these three shared an intense bond. Ginny smiled, but felt bittersweet on the inside.

"I would have gone crazy if I hadn't had this," Hermione said. She had stopped crying. She was still wiping the snot away with her robes. "This past week without you… without anyone… all alone… nothing being in order… I wanted to… I wanted to just disappear of the face of the Earth…" she burst out crying, trembling like a leaf in the wind and sobbing uncontrollably. Ginny hugged her, and Hermione hugged her back, crying into her shoulders and telling her everything about the past week.

During her story, Hermione burst out crying several times and each time she had to be comforted before she was able to proceed. Ginny was patient each time, but she was glad when Hermione stopped finally crying. By the end of the other witch's monologue, she had learned that Hermione had been in this world since Monday, and that it was currently Sunday – she had given no thought to such matters up until this point, because everything had felt so abnormal keeping track of what day of the week it was seemed pointless.) Hermione had attempted to consult Dumbledore just like Ginny had had, but she hadn't had much luck until Wednesday when they ran into each other in a corridor and Hermione begged him to listen to her until he finally gave in. Dumbledore had been initially suspicious and distrustful, but after hearing Hermione out he seemed to believe her story and was interested in finding out more about the world she was from. That, according to Hermione, was another thing that had kept her sane – being able to share her story with someone who believed her and seemed to understand her feelings and wanted to help her.

When Ginny asked if they had discovered something, she shared the most interesting tidbit of information yet – "Yes. We have several theories. But so far, they are just theories. I have – I have a vague memory of something that happened before I got here," Hermione said nervously. Ginny sat up eagerly, her heart beating in her chest. "Yes?"

Hermione nodded, then looked up at Ginny, brown eyes aghast, "But you're not going to like it."

After Hermione told her about the memory, Ginny refused to believe it. "No. No. That can't be. That – that cannot be us. We would never have – regardless," Ginny said. "Regardless, we have to get back. People make mistakes, and then they fix them. At least they should have the chance to. We deserve that, don't we? We deserve a second chance. Because that was not – NOT US!"

"That's what I thought too, but-"

"Stop it!" Ginny snapped. "We did not do that! There has to be an explanation for this!"

"I – I think –I think I have one – but it's a bit far-fetched, maybe-"

"Tell me! This can't be true! I could never be so – never be so-"

"When's your last memory, Ginny!?" Hermione demanded suddenly.

"No!" Ginny denied doing so because she was afraid it would make accepting the memory Hermione had as reality. She did not want to – she did not want to think of herself that way. She did not care if that even was reality, she wanted to ignore it, she was so glad she had forgotten it if it had really happened at all – what guarantee was there to it besides Hermione's word? She could have easily been bewitched, had a certain memory put inside her head...

"Accept it, Ginny," Hermione said, a mixture of pleading and aggressive, her eyes puffy from crying, her voice hoarse from yelling, her cheeks red from shame – "We wanted to come back. We wanted to leave everyone and everything behind. It was our choice. We ran away."

* * *

A/N: Thank you everyone for all the reviews! They made my day. We jumped from 3 to 7, which is a huge accomplishment for me! I'm also very happy most of you seem to enjoy it.

I hope those who have reviewed and had some of their questions answered in this chapter. Thank you so much for your reviews and I hope you know they make my day and they literally have me squealing for hours. lol

Still looking forward to reviews! Feel free to ask questions (if you don't have private messaging disabled) I will make sure to reply to you! :)


	5. Chapter 5

_Chapter Five_

" **T** here's not many things I am sure about anymore," Ginny said. "But if there's one thing, that's that I would never, ever run away and leave my family and friends behind. Who the bloody hell do you take me for!?" Ginny demanded.

"I'm not taking you for anything – I had done the same!" Hermione cried.

"You have one memory," Ginny said. "You have one bloody memory. It could have easily been put inside your head."

"It wasn't! Me and Dumbledore have gone over it countless times. _Countless_ times. He let me look at it in his Pensieve, even. There are no flaws in that memory. It's as detailed as a real one. Dumbledore had himself seen it several times."

"So what, he's not helping us now because we're cowards?" Ginny demanded, panicking, furious.

"NO!" Hermione said, tears rolling down her cheeks. She look ashamed, sad, and angry – no wonder she had exploded, Ginny thought. She was on the verge of a breakdown herself. "He's not judgmental! Who do you think he is, honestly?!"

"How should I know, the only time I ever saw him was after I – after I opened – nevermind," Ginny said, going as red as her hair. "Never mind!" she yelled at herself, her mind to stop remembering, stop reminding her of that one time she had never really gotten over… "OK – so he's helping us then." Ginny had calmed down considerably. Not all was lost then, after all, she discerned.

"He is," Hermione said, nodding. "I just thought you should know. So as to know what to expect when – or if – we get back. It won't be a joyride,"

"So we have to hurry up then, don't we?" Ginny said. "Do you – do you think-" her heart stopped a beat. "Do you think that the people whose bodies we have taken are now in our bodies? Back where we came from?"

Hermione shook her head, smiling a little condescendingly. Ginny narrowed her eyes irritably. "No, it's unlikely. I mean, I thought of that too, don't get me wrong, so you're not exactly off-track – but then I found a book in the Restricted Section of the library. Slughorn gave me a pass – you'll soon find out who he is. Anyway," Hermione said, noticing Ginny's blank stare at the potioneer's name. "But we're both forgetting who we have become. The way you acted before dinner – I mean, you noticed, surely, haven't you? It's the personality, the soul, or whatever you want to call it of the person whose bodies you are now in possession of. The Ginny of this universe is still inside you."

"How are you so sure of that?" Ginny did not want to believe it. She fought against reality, because she thought she wouldn't be able to take it. She wanted the easy way out, just once – but before she sunk too deep in self-pity, she steeled herself. She did not want to be weak – God knows growing up with five older brothers had made sure of that. There was no merit to not being strong and brave. No, none at all. Growing up in a family of Gryffindors made sure of that as well. Just before she fell of the edge of sanity, she caught herself and dusted herself off and pulled herself up. She was ready to go on. The mental image of her family kept her sane. Kept her going.

"I have been researching this past week," Hermione said. "Non-stop. I have even fallen behind on my studies, but luckily I remember a lot from fifth year – we're all fifth years here, by the way, it has probably slipped your attention because so much has happened in the past twenty-four hours – but, we'll find out more in due time. The problem is, since time travel is illegal, there's not much material on it, not even in the Restricted Section…" Hermione bit her lip worriedly, thinking about her something, then shook her head and smiled bravely, but Ginny thought it was all an act, "We'll find it. With Dumbledore on our side, who can stop us?"

 _A lot of people,_ Ginny thought irritably. Dumbledore wasn't some sort of diety; he was a fallible human being just like the rest of them. and judging by the fact that Hermione had not yet solved the mystery either Dumbledore wasn't as invested in their story as Hermione had thought him to be, or simply he was not as useful as Hermione made him out to be.

Or maybe there's another reason, a voice inside her head insisted. But she shooed it away. She was angry and no one was able to reason with her in such a state.

Maybe I'm just being pessimistic, Ginny settled at last because the voice would not shut up. _Crazy,_ Ginny thought. _I'm going crazy._

* * *

Hermione and Ginny stayed in the DA room for a long time, with Hermione explaining everything she had found out about the world they were currently in and the magic that had got them here.

"It's not _actually_ time travel," Hermione said, pointing to a certain passage in one of the many books she kept stashed in the Room, to make sure no one found them. "Well, not _entirely_. It's dimensional travel as well."

Ginny's head was about to explode. "Yes?" she prompted, looking nauseated. She was not made for this; no one, she thought, was made to be ripped out from their world and thrown into utter madness. But that was her life now. That was what she had. That was what she had gotten. Like many other things that had happened to her, it had happened to her against her will – or so she liked to believe (luckily Hermione hadn't mentioned her memory again after a shouting match with Ginny, which Hermione had won even though by the looks of it Hermione wanted to forget about her memory just as much as she did.) However, despite not having chosen it, Ginny still had to deal with it; it infuriated her, it made her want to set the world on fire and watch it burn with glee, with utter satisfaction that everyone and everything that had wronged her was incinerated and was no longer a threat to her well-being. She knew that was wrong and sick – her parents had taught her that, and she trusted their judgment and wisdom –, but she couldn't help it. That didn't mean she was going to do it, but fantasizing about getting back at the world, everyone she was mad at, she found oddly satisfying. Oddly, yes, because she never thought anything could ever make her so vindictive. She was surprised at herself but other than a burst of righteous anger, she did not think it meant much.

She listened to Hermione explain their situation – or at least, whatever she thought had happened to them, as Ginny was no longer so sure Hermione was as smart as she pretended –, seething with rage inside, taking deep breaths in an attempt to keep herself at bay. It was working, but just barely, and she threatened to blow up with fury any moment.

Hermione noticed this but decidedly ignored it, hoping that by not feeding the fire that was Ginny's anger it would eventually die out. "We traveled back in time," Hermione proceeded. "But what I know or you know about our parents' pasts isn't going to help us much because this world is completely different than the one our parents lived in."

 _No shit Sherlock_ , Ginny thought but refrained from doing so. Hermione had done more research than she had. She was in no place to talk. _You're just angry, Ginny; calm down. It's not Hermione's fault that you have ended up here. You're in the same boat. To make matters easier for yourself, you might as well paddle with her. That way, you'll get to your destination much faster than by making enemies of the only other person in your proverbial boat. In your situation. In your shoes._

Ginny slowly calmed down as Hermione had predicted; when the brunette saw the change in her friend's face her shoulders finally relaxed and a glorious smile spread across her face, her brown eyes dancing with joy. "As you saw, Molly isn't your mother anymore; here, she's your twin sister, but you're dizygotic-"

"What?"

"It means," Hermione said irritably. "That even though you are twins you do not look _exactly_ the same. It's rare, but it does happen. It usually happens, though, when the twins' genders are different-"

"OK, I get it," Ginny said. "Go on,"

Hermione nodded. "Alright… so, getting back to what I was saying – Molly's your twin sister here. Obviously since your mother didn't marry your father yet, she still uses her maiden name, and so do you – that makes you Virginia Prewett."

"Virginia!?"

"Hey, at least be glad you have the same nickname," Hermione said. "I'm called Marlene," she said. "Marlene, for God's sake,"

Ginny giggled. "Come on, it's not that bad," she said kindly.

"Being called your _own_ nick-name isn't that bad," Hermione said. Ginny just smiled, not knowing what to say but hoping her presence was somehow helping Hermione cope as the other witch's presence was helping _her_ cope.

"Anyway… Virgina Prewett," she said jokingly and Ginny laughed, throwing a pillow at her. Hermione fell back on the floor, laughing, then sat up and commanded the two of them to be serious again. Ginny calmed down, even though she longed to even just pretend that everything was alright. She had no idea how Hermione was able to cope so well, especially given that she had been here longer than her and without any sort of company; she marveled at her friend's incredible strength.

"So, Ginny," Ginny giggled again but made no comments. "You're 16 here, and so is your mother. You were both born on November 18th." Ginny opened her mouth but closed it when Hermione's stern eyes met hers. "I am Marlene McKinnon, I am 16 as well as I was born in September. Just thought you should be made aware of your own age as well as mine." Ginny grinned but did not want to derail the conversation again and refrained from voicing her thoughts or making any observations or raising questions; they could all wait until the end of Hermione's monologue.

"We have been – from what I could find out even though I didn't want to ask a lot of questions lest I seem crazy – best friends since second year when you got into a fight with James, and did not want to talk to boys ever again," Ginny giggled and Hermione smiled at her. "Then shortly you made up because you got the apology you wanted but we stayed friends. I used to get along with the boys as well and we used to be a jolly little group of Hogwarts-goers until I started dating Sirius… but I did not think Sirius was good enough for me, or smart enough for me, so I dumped him and started dating someone else on the Quidditch team." Ginny gaped at her; Hermione just shrugged. "Apparently, I'm a very considerate person here," and they both burst out laughing. They laughed for a long, long time even though it wasn't really that funny and they both knew but just being in each other's presence lifted such a huge weight from their hearts that they felt free, even thought they were constrained in an unfamiliar world in the bodies of two people they have never met, and even though they desperately wanted to believe they could one day return to the world where they had come from, they knew deep in their hearts that their chances were slim.

"Do I play on the Quidditch team here?" Ginny asked suddenly.

"Yes," Hermione said with a smile. "You play Chaser. You were, er, not very good at it so many people criticized you for it, and say that you got in only because you er, well I'm not sure how to put it, share a very intense bond with the boys."

"What!?" Ginny said. "That's – that's horrendous!"

"Come on, Ginny, they aren't saying this about you but the person whose body you are now in possession of. They wouldn't say this about you, the real you, from your own world."

"How are you so sure they are with us? The people whose bodies we are in possession of?" Ginny asked suddenly. "I mean, you said that but you didn't explain why. How come you think they are here? Why haven't they left?"

"Don't you have flashbacks? Memories?" Hermione asked. "About people you've never met? Don't you have episodes where you're not yourself? Don't you have thoughts and emotions you can't explain? Don't you do things you can't remember why you did them? Like when you left me for those boys. I was so mad, and I didn't even know why! You were – you were not really yourself, weren't you?"

Ginny pondered the question briefly before replying. "I don't know – I don't think so. It felt like I was myself, yeah."

"It obviously does but after a while you'll begin to be able to differentiate between _that_ person and who you really are."

Ginny was silent for a moment.

Then she looked up at Hermione and asked,

"But if we're not in our bodies, and these – these people are not in our bodies, who are?"

Hermione gulped as though fearing the answer as much as Ginny was. "I don't know, Ginny. I honestly don't know."

That was possibly the worst thing Hermione could have said in Ginny's opinion.

* * *

They talked into the night, pondering the possible reasons they could have wanted to come back after Hermione had filled Ginny in on everything they knew – Hermione was defending her stance while Ginny fought against it fiercely. She insisted the memory had been put inside her mind; she insisted they were someone else's, perhaps their doppelgangers'. Ginny said that from what she was able to recall, these two girls were satisfied with their lives and wanted to live them. Their lives were, in fact, so perfect that they often created problems for themselves, started unnecessary drama and engaged in petty fights. However, the rest of their world seemed no matter; how peculiar it is, Ginny thought, that when people don't have problems they invent some.

She always thought of people whose lives were not plagued by the constant threat of death enviously. However, now she knew that not all people's lives were enviable, no matter how great they looked on the outside and how many people thought they wanted to be them. For example, the Ginny of this world did not seem like such a sympathetic person as she created drama for herself. Also, according to what Hermione had found out, they were pretty popular Hogwarts students, partially due to their magical abilities but mostly thanks to their assertive, dominant natures, meaning other, less authoritative students feared them.

"It's not really our personalities, though," Hermione had said. Ginny, for some reason, had to be constantly reminded; she was on the verge of losing her mind because the details of this world were just too much to take in.

Ginny, who had stayed even after Hermione had left for bed, stared up at the ceiling of the DA room, listening to the crackle of the fire and staring up at the mistletoes hanging from the walls. _That was one of our best practices_ , Ginny thought nostalgically, a smile spreading across her face. Her eyes began to water as she thought of Harry, and then of Cho, but before a wave of sadness could completely wash over her she shook the thought of them away.

Instead, she tried focusing on James, Sirius, and everyone else; despite her circumstances, she tried to think of being placed in someone else's body as a gift. Especially someone whose life, judging by what Hermione had told her, seemed pretty easy. In fact, maybe too easy for someone to bear; people needed hardships, Ginny thought, to keep them sane. The lightness of just being is truly unbearable. Mediocre. Without a cause to fight for, without a goal, there is no reason to live. People need distraction from their lives, otherwise, perhaps, they'd realize how short and pointless their time on this earth truly was.

These were all her father's words, and Ginny kept replaying them in her mind, even though she was not sure he was right or how much he had even meant it at the time or if he was just mad because Lucius Malfoy had wreaked havoc in the Ministry for some reason instead of just appreciating his good fortune.

Ginny turned on her side and stared at the spot Hermione had been sitting on before she had left. The thought of her made her smile to herself even though this Hermione still seemed fishy – but her instincts had led her astray before. _Don't ever listen to your worst instincts again,_ her father had told her after she had chosen to put trust in Tom Riddle's diary. She gulped. But how does one tell one's worst instincts from their best ones? They all seem the same, they all cause the same feelings, and… Ginny shook her head. _Fifteen-year olds should not have to deal with things like this._

But when had life ever taken things like that into account?

After a long time, Ginny, feeling empty, staring at nothing in particular as she walked – it was a miracle she did not bump into anybody; though that is due more to others watching their steps than her minding where she was going. _How much longer are you going to take feeling sorry for yourself!?,_ a voice in her head demanded and realizing the voice of reason was, as usual, right, a smile spread across her face. The lightness of being was truly unbearable. Things could be worse; and she had to concentrate on what was good about this life, which she may or may not be able to escape from, until she hatched up an escape plan. After all, things could be worse; she could have gone to a universe where Voldemort had won, for example, but she hadn't. She had been transported into a world where there was peace, and where she had great friends – besides, she had her best friend with her.

She climbed in through the Portrait Hole after uttering the password to the Fat Lady – luckily, the portrait guarding the Gryffindor Common Room was the same in this world as well.

Things could be worse, she thought as she stepped into the familiar red and gold Common Room. She could be the person whose body she had taken.

The thought sent chills down her spine and a wave of incredible guilt washed over her. Before she could dwell on it, however, four familiar figures appeared in her line of sight, running towards her dangerously fast, a crazed sort of happiness contorting their features.

"Gin! Ginnykins!" James said. Ginny blinked in surprise but Sirius took over, grabbing her by the shoulders and shaking her excitedly. "Oi!" Ginny snapped, pushing a surprised Sirius away. "What's up with you four?" she asked, grinning at them. _I am,_ she realized, _more blessed with these people than I know._ A feeling of utmost serenity took over her as she observed them. They were nice blokes; they were loyal men; they were her friends through thick and thin.

"We got it back!" Sirius went on, joy taking over his face again.

"What?" Ginny asked.

"The Cloak!" James said. "What else?" he patted his bag. "It's in there!" he whispered loudly. Ginny was aware that people were staring but the boys did not seem to care and neither did she; a serene sort of happiness had taken over her and she felt like she had reached nirvana not by searching for it, but just realizing how blessed she was with what she had and not wanting endlessly more. Perhaps this is the definition of nirvana, Ginny thought as the four boys dragged her excitedly out of the Common Room, overzealously detailing their latest plan, waiting for her input, occasionally bumping into her as they ran and jumped – and their touch felt good, as good as only the touch of someone you truly love and trust can. She felt the love and trust Ginny harbored for these boys and felt their love as well; it was truly heaven, and now Ginny was convinced that Virginia Prewett would have been a true idiot if she wanted to get away from this life. Now, she was no longer convinced that her theory that Hermione was just remembering her doppelganger's memories was right. In fact, she was almost entirely convinced that it was wrong and that she was just grasping at straws (which she was.) Who would want to throw this life away?

* * *

A/N: Thank you for all your reviews again! I'm sorry but I could not wait to upload the next chapter. I'm very interested to learn your opinions on these new developments.


	6. Chapter 6

_Chapter Six_

 **G** inny was lying on a large bed covered in fluffy white, warm sheets, and she felt the weight of someone else on the bed next to her but she was glad of the person's presence, she could tell. "Hello, Ginnykins," the voice said beside her and Ginny giggled, ecstatic, turning over to come face to face with the owner of the voice. "Jimmykins," she said jokingly in response.

"Don't ever call me that," he said, hitting her playfully with a pillow. Ginny laughed loudly but felt slightly annoyed and nearly pushed him off the bed in retaliation. "Hey, hey," James said, grinning, fixing his lopsided glasses on the bridge of his nose. Ginny grinned at him, eyes shining, then bit her lips before pushing him down on the bed and leaning in to kiss him – but just before their lips met, Ginny pulled back, giggling, and jumped off the bed and started running, throwing random things on the floor as she ran. James, yelling, hastily trying to fix everything with a spell until he finally threw his wand away, giving up trying to clear all the damage the tall, beautiful redhead, the girl who looked exactly he had dreamed of his future wife would look like, the girl whose personality was even better than anything he had even hoped for in a future wife, caused. Yet he could not be mad at her because she was almost exactly the embodiment of everything he had ever dreamed of, the epitome of everything he desired and craved in a member of the opposite sex. Naturally, she was not perfect, Ginny knew because James had talked her about things she did not like about her, but they were minor things, he always said, not to matter at all. Ginny remembered this very clearly.

James finally caught up with an ever-giggling Ginny, grabbing her, turning her around, lifting her slightly and pushing her against the wall, then proceeded to kiss her passionately until they finally started undressing each other…

Ginny woke with a start, heart hammering furiously against her ribcage, she was barely able to hear her own thoughts against the pumping of blood in her head. What the hell…? What was that? What on Earth had happened…?

She looked around, only to find herself in the Gryffindor girls' dormitories again. She pulled the drapes from her four-poster bed and looked outside; not all of the girls' drapes were drawn and she realized that she was still where she had come from. Traveling universes, taking someone else's body – all that had been real, and more than a mere nightmare.

Then she realized the nightmare she had had was not in fact a nightmare but a strange reality.

It was a memory.

She did not know why she had dreamt of it, how she knew it was a memory, but she had never been more certain of anything; this was real, this was a memory.

* * *

Still thinking of this the next day in History of Magic, tapping her fingers, pensive, on the desk she was occupying, she barely took any notice of her surroundings before Molly slapped her books on the desk, making Ginny jump.

Molly said, "Scoot over. I wanna sit next to you."

"I think that's fine," Ginny said. "You can sit somewhere else," she did not know what had possessed her to do or say this but she was fed up with Molly and wanted to be as far away from her as possible.

"You're not going to sit with those awful boys again," Molly insisted.

"They're my _friends_ -"

Molly seemed jealous for a moment before she concealed it – or perhaps Ginny was just imagining things. "Sure, if you'd rather sit with your _friends_ than your sister," she said stiffly before packing her things and taking a seat beside someone else a few seats back after asking if the person sitting there didn't mind. _Pathetic,_ Ginny thought. _Of course she can be kind to strangers but not to her own sister. All because she's jealous! Fucking pathetic._

Then Ginny realized she didn't normally swear. She did not want to swear; her parents had taught her against it. But otherwise, she liked this other Ginny. She resembled her in many ways. Fiery, angry, even aggressive perhaps – but noble, all the while, noble. Ginny could feel who the other Ginny was; her presence, her soul, was still in her body, and Ginny's soul could feel hers. The thought of merging suddenly seemed dangerously appealing.

"Hello," Sirius said, plopping down on a chair in front of Ginny, grinning with a sort of joie de vivre that was contagious. Ginny grinned back, immediately put in a better mood. "Where are the others?" she asked him then.

"James is skipping, as usual," Sirius said, still grinning. "Remus has – well, his furry little problem has come forward, hasn't it?"

Ginny blinked, her face blank.

"What, don't you know?" Sirius asked, leaning closer. "You have to be shitting me," he said, bursting out laughing; his laugh sounded like a bark. "I know you are," he said, wagging his finger at Ginny before turning forward when Peter and Hermione arrived, plopping down on the seat next to Sirius, running into the classroom just a few seconds before a very irate looking Professor Binns. Hermione plopped down next to Ginny; Sirius turned back to comment, "Couldn't you have sat somewhere else?"

"I'm sorry if my presence bothers you," Hermione said. She did not sound like herself and Ginny just stared at Hermione blankly. "But you'll just have to get used to it because Virginia is my friend too."

Ginny just stared – Virginia. Bleh. And she had thought Ginevra had been bad…

Sirius harrumphed something irritably and turned forward, unable to think of any riposte. Ginny smirked, turning to Hermione; even though she was best friends with Sirius, Hermione was still a girl, and Ginny – or Virginia, rather – was a big believer in "girls rule, boys drool" despite being best friends with boys. That, too, was sympathetic, even though Ginny felt like Virginia was taking this belief to extremes; and as such, it was not good.

She wanted to find out more about Virginia – she was torn between trying to suppress the other presence she could feel in the body she possessed, and between giving a bit more power. Not enough to take over control again, but just enough to see inside her mind, heart and soul – but she did not know if she could pull that off successfully or if she'd accidentally give her more power than she intended, and she didn't know just how many Virginia was at her for taking over her life. Ginny gulped, and decided to suppress the presence after all.

 _Never trust something that thinks but you can't see where,_ Ginny thought, reminded of her father's words. _But I had taken her body. She thinks with my brain –_ I _think with her brain._ She corrected.

Ginny buried her face in her hands.

"Hey? Hey, are you OK?" Hermione asked, shaking her slightly. Ginny looked up and pretended to smile. After all, there was no helping her problem right now and wallowing in self-pity wasn't going to help anyone.

Hermione took out a piece of parchment and began scribbling on it furiously. At first Ginny thought she was just taking notes and turned away disinterestedly, doodling on the piece of parchment in front of her. Suddenly, before she could finish her hundredth heart, Hermione slipped two pieces of parchment in front of her, clearing her throat loudly to get Ginny's attention. "Read," she commanded under her breath, her shoulders tense, impatient, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

 _I stayed up late researching inter-dimensional travel, but I did not find much other than what I had already learned. I could not find any particular spells we could use to reverse the spell. If there are archives of this, I am now sure they are all hidden somewhere in the Ministry._

 _Ginny – we have to break into the Ministry. I just need to find out which department such files are kept in, and before we break in there, I need to do some more research._

 _I also checked out a few books about memory-wiping and reversing its effects; I have found nothing of interest at all._

 _You know, you could help out a little bit more too. I get that these guys are engaging and despite their horrendous ways you have grown attached to them, but they are not your friends. They are Virginia's friends. You should give them back to her along with her body. Get a grip, Ginny._

 _Meet me today after classes and I'll fill you in on everything I have found. I am going to skip the rest of today's classes – I have no interest in pretending to be this girl at all. Please cover for me and tell the teachers I'm sick or something; apparently, it's in character for Marlene McKinnon to do so._

Ginny turned to Hermione and nodded, too preoccupied with her other problem to take Hermione's scathing tone or the things she said to heart.

Then to the other witch's surprise, Ginny grabbed her own quill and started scribbling onto the parchment as well.

 _I'll do that. I'm sorry if my help hadn't been adequate._ She did not feel like arguing and plus, Hermione had a point.

 _I just – I just thought you should know that..._

She struggled to write down the words that were plaguing her mind.

 _Virginia Prewett slept with James Potter. I thought the rumors were fake, but apparently they're all true –_

She passed the parchment back to Hermione who read over it quickly before turning back to Ginny, slightly astonished, slightly speculating, and slightly irritable. Then she dipped her quill in ink and began writing again, scribbling on the parchment furiously. When she was done writing her thoughts down, she passed it back to Ginny:

 _I think I understand why this affects you the way it obviously does, but that was not you, as I said. That was Virginia Prewett. You have nothing to do with her. You did not sleep with James Potter. Just try to get it out of your head, please?_

But Ginny couldn't.

"Why are you obsessing about this?" Hermione demanded from Ginny at breakfast (which was after their first class here), after forbidding her from sitting with the boys because they had important things to discuss. Hermione was asking because Ginny kept staring at the four boys wistfully, who were constantly motioning for her to join them and Ginny looked like only loyalty towards Hermione was keeping her in her spot; in her heart of hearts she really only wanted to be with the boys. "What do you care even if what you think happened is true? The James Potter of this world loves Virginia Prewett. Not you. Don't you even _dare_ think about it," Hermione said. "Think of Harry. Think of your parents. Think of your brothers. Think of your family, for God's sake, Ginevra! Think of the world you left. Besides, I thought you hated these people! I thought you hated these people because they were boastful, arrogant and overall pretty ridiculous. What happened!?"

Ginny didn't know what to say.

"Oh my God!" Hermione said, slapping her head on her forehead. "Don't you realize? Don't you realize what's happening? That girl – Virginia – is taking over you! You're not yourself anymore, Ginevra! Fight – fight against it! Please, Ginevra, the world you left needs you. The family you left behind misses you and loves you. Think of Harry – how well things had been going, how jealous he was when he saw you with Dean, he was just beginning to realize-"

"What?" Ginny said. Ginny felt like she was on the brink of remembering but something kept her from breaking through a proverbial wall and regain her memories. "I – I'm trying to remember but something's wrong. I can't," she said, sounding helpless.

"You've been bewitched," Hermione said nodding seriously. "I've been thinking that for quite sometime. We've both been." She took a deep breath, preparing to start a monologue. "Listen-"

"No," Ginny snapped. "I'm done listening. I'm done. I don't want to do this anymore. I'm sick of this!" she cried. Several people stopped to turn their direction anymore.

"Leave me alone, _Marlene_ ," Ginny said, sniffing, voicing her name in this world spitefully. "I need a break."

Hermione, astonished, not wanting to make an even bigger scene, watched Ginny leave and take a seat with the boys.

* * *

"James," Ginny asked, turning to the boy in question on a Sunday afternoon a few days before Christmas when most of the rest of the student body had already left for home. They were sitting on the couches of the vacated Gryffindor Common Room, reading and doing homework due after the holidays so when they went home they wouldn't have to deal with it. She had been watching scribble away at the parchment in front of him, looking determined to finish, too deep in thought to notice her staring, or perhaps not paying attention to it on purpose. Ginny found herself liking the way the light of the fire lit up his face; he was handsome. She told herself she only liked him because he reminded her of Harry, which was true; they were very alike in more ways than one. Despite his air of arrogance, James Potter was, deep down, a truly good person and anyone who even had a single talk with him could tell you that; and despite Harry's slightly aloof nature, he was very open with his friends and a very strong and brave person no matter how shy or lost he seemed like. This lost puppy sort of quality was what had attracted her to him in the first place; but James's fiery nature (that was just like hers), and his more fierce type of kindness was also rather appealing.

"Hm?" James asked when Ginny said his name, looking up from his homework.

Ginny smiled tenderly, her eyes shining with affection. The fire lit up her brown eyes, and made her hair seem even redder. It reminded James of the colors of the sunset, but he did not say anything, just smiled.

"I just… I just…" Ginny sat up. "I wanted to ask you about something I can't get out of my head."

James blinked. "What about?"

"I… I don't know if I… I mean," Ginny then looked deep into James's eyes and this time she knew exactly what it was that took over her, or who, rather: Virginia Prewett. "I miss you," she heard herself saying; her voice sounded deeper, raspier, and seductive. She felt different, more confident, braver, and more reckless – and Ginny suddenly wondered how it was that the boys had not noticed that something was completely off with her the past weeks. She fought against the presence, but the presence, in the time it had rested, gained incredible strength. _Don't give up,_ she told herself firmly. She found herself wanting to kiss James Potter, not _Virginia._

She finally defeated the presence and, without listening to what the boy was saying, took his face in her hands and leaned in to kiss him, kissing with all the affections she had repressed for him this past week, all the love she had harbored throughout her fifteen years of life but had not been able to bestow upon anyone. James pulled away, looking shocked, then burst into a grin when Ginny – still fighting with Virginia over control – pushed him down on the couch, continuing kissing him fervently, not caring about anything, not even thinking. Finally, she pulled away, breathing heavily, wondering if she had ruined everything, if he had really wanted it at all – but she could still feel the shivers the touch of his large, warm hands on her back and on her cheeks had sent down her spine. She smiled shyly, never having kissed a boy so passionately before – she had never felt the fire of desire so fervently before. Feeling embarrassed, going as red as her hair, she looked away, blinking furiously.

"What – what was that?" James asked, still grinning, fixing his lopsided glasses on the bridge of his nose.

Reminded of the memory of them making love, he spent shivers down her spine unwittingly anew. She wondered how he could have such an effect on her; if this was purely physical or if there was something more to it than the desire she could no longer deny even to herself. She found James Potter incredibly desirable. Ever since she had that memory, she wanted to just rip off his clothes and repeat what she remembered the body's original owner had done with the body. Oh, how she felt like she had missed out on so much…! She longed to experience the throes of passion and the ecstasy of making love – not just coitus, but truly making love – that Virginia had, and in that moment she envied her doppelganger for having deflowered James Potter. She wished they could have been each other's first ones. She wished she could have been her first. She wanted to be the one to rid James Potter of his innocence. Alas, that was now impossible.

Then she found herself shaking her head. Since when had she been so… possessive? Jealous?

This must be Virgina's effect on her, she decided. She was no longer sure where Virginia ended and she began. The body's original owner was fighting for control with all that she had. Instead of focusing on the guilt she felt, she tried to focus on the present moment and suppress the other presence inside her body.

"I don't know," Ginny said finally. "Old memories. Nostalgia," her voice was stiff. She wasn't sure she wanted anything more than this. Her carnal desires had been fulfilled and she still couldn't decide what her feelings for James truly were. She liked him, because in his heart of hearts he was a loyal person, but his arrogance towards others, sometimes even her, was a turn-off.

"Oh," James said. "So it wasn't serious?"

"No," Ginny said at last, staring into the fire, listening to it crackle. "No, it was nothing Sirius," she joked at last, and James's face went cloudy; he obviously didn't appreciate her joking around when their kiss had been so important to him.

"Alright," he said sternly. "Stop playing around with my emotions. You know how I feel about you." he gathered his things huffily, then slung his backpack over his shoulder, preparing to leave. Ginny's heart sank and she realized she had made the wrong move. She wished she could take the words back immediately.

"No, James, I-" Ginny said, standing up.

"No, I'm done!" James snapped. "I'm done with you playing with me like a toy! I have feelings too, you know? I'm sick of you pretending that because I'm a man I don't."

"Oh, please!" Ginny said. "I don't act like you don't have feelings because you're a man but because you act like an asshole all the time with others. Ever thought of that?" She was speaking without thinking.

"You know me," James insisted.

"Do I?"

"Like you're so innocent!" James snapped, approaching her and Ginny's heart started beating furiously against her ribcage. "Like you never hexed random students! Like playing around with my feelings makes you a good person!"

Hurting bad people does make you a good person, Ginny found herself thinking but didn't voice her thoughts.

"There are no innocents here, only varying degrees of culpability,"

"I'm still less fucked up than you," Ginny spat. "Don't you dare come closer to me!" she said, eyes wide with fear, when James started closing in the space between the two of them. He looked furious, but also as though he wanted to kiss her again –

Ginny wanted to kiss him, and did not want it to be him who kissed her; it was a matter of dominance. Maybe that was why she had played around so much with him in the first place. James was the man, who was supposed to be more dominant, but Ginny strived for dominance in each area of her life; she could not have a partner more powerful than her. The thought made her sick.

"James," she said, cooling down, "I don't want to do this. Not anymore. Not to you." she said, shaking her head. Her tender feelings for him resurfaced. Then she got mad at herself for being so _emotional_. So tender, and so _weak._

James looked like he didn't really mind what he did to her, he still loved her; and right now, he just wanted to kiss her. "It's OK. I know what you're like. I forgive you." he said, and closed his eyes and leaned in to kiss Ginny. Ginny kissed him back tentatively, unable to let passion take over again, because she was more disgusted with the entire situation than he was attracted to James Potter. Then he kissed her again and she kissed him back; what was there to be done with two spoiled brats in lust – and both obsessed? Ginny with her own desires, of being finally wanted by someone after being shunned by the one she had pined for for so long in her own world; and James with the elusive girl he could never, ever fully have, no matter how much times he had her; the girl he had could never really call his own.

Ginny had never been loved so intensely and so desperately in all her life, and it is what she had always fantasized about. Not with James, but liking James had made it easier for her to forget the other boy; the love and energy James gave her was intoxicating, and it gave her much more energy than Hermione's support; it filled her with strength and joy and a love for life she could not place. James, to her, suddenly felt like the sun.

She knew she was in an enviable position to be on the receiving end of such passion and obsession when she had done nothing to merit it; the one she could thank for this was the one she desperately wanted to cease existing, however utterly selfish that was. She would live up to who Virginia had been; she would become deserving of his love; and she would never, ever treat him like Virginia had. They would love each other and they would be happy; he would never notice a thing, and even if he did, he would love the changes in her; surely no one would like to be mistreated forever no matter how intoxicating their love-making and their time together was.

They would be happy together, forever.

Ginny would finally have the life she had always wanted and get the happy ending she had always hoped for.

What she had thought was the worst curse life had ever bestowed upon her could, in fact, be her greatest blessing in disguise.

* * *

A/N: Alright, so! I couldn't wait to share this chapter with you guys so, unlike myself, I have uploaded **_three_** chapters today!

If you have any questions about Ginny's behavior in this chapter, fret not, they will be answered soon enough in the upcoming chapters! I hope you were surprised by this new development and have enjoyed it. I really can't wait to hear your opinions on this! :)

Thank you so much for all your reviews so far too.

Have a nice day! :)


	7. Chapter 7

_Chapter Seven_

 **G** inny and James both decided to say for the holidays. Actually, James had initially only planned a few days with Ginny, but when she realized that Ginny had been serious about not going home for the holidays, he had decided to stay longer too. Each day he told Ginny that he would leave "tomorrow", but tomorrow never seemed to come around; every day was today.

Ginny had initially promised Molly and her parents that she would spend the holidays home; Molly wrote her a furious letter expressing her (unimportant, Ginny thought) opinion about Ginny's selfishness. That much Ginny had expected, even if she had hoped against all evidence deep down that Molly would miraculously forget about her. Ginny could not wrap her head around Molly's behavior; Molly pretended to hate her, but the more she got to know her "sister", the more she realized Molly's real problem with her was that she considered her second to her friends. Ginny could understand why that would hurt, but she wasn't obligated to like someone just because they were related. In fact, Molly was nothing like her; Molly was unconfident, but tried to cover it with bossiness that made her hateful; Molly was smart, but not as talented as her sister, to whom, compared to her, everything seemed to come effortlessly… It must have been ten times harder because they were not simply sisters but twins; their differences were even more obvious this way. Sometimes she caught herself feeling sorry for Molly, until the latter opened her mouth and insulted her. It was hard to be Molly's friend, because she took out her negative emotions on others, mostly Ginny, as though punishing Ginny for being herself. That wasn't very sympathetic to Ginny. She wanted to help Molly, but not everybody could be helped, she decided; not that Molly wanted her help, or even admitted to herself that there was something wrong with her. Because, according to her, only Ginny was ever wrong; she was the rebel, the rule-breaker, and there were a couple of other, considerably meaner things that Molly referred to her as.

She felt that Virginia had never particularly liked her sister and was glad for the rivalry between them and was always afraid she'd somehow lose even if she ended up winning; perhaps because of Molly's constant badgering, Virginia felt as though she really were a bad person.

She desperately wanted to ask Hermione what this was all about, but ever since the shout-down in the Great Hall, she didn't dare approach her; Hermione didn't seem mad whenever their eyes met when they were in the same room, just disappointed, extremely so. Ginny's heart broke into a thousand little pieces because she thought Hermione was right to feel disappointed. She could definitely understand her perspective; Hermione had liked her life, had been satisfied with herself, and now she was in the body of an unpopular, so-considered slimy girl. No wonder she didn't feel very attached to this universe. In her place, Ginny thought, she wouldn't either.

Ginny liked to think that if she had gotten a better life, Hermione would have wanted to stay too, but she wasn't quite so sure.

Hermione left for the holidays without saying goodbye to Ginny; Ginny wondered why she would spend the holidays with a family she didn't even know or love, but decided not to care. She wouldn't figure her out unless she told her what she was up to, and in order for that they would have to reconcile and talk. Ginny was ready for neither. She knew that making up with Hermione would entail her bringing her into her research, but she didn't want to research or go back to the world they had come from. Ginny wondered why Hermione didn't just try to redeem her image and live a life in this much easier, much more comfortable world. _She is nobler than you,_ a voice in her head always said. _No,_ she told the voice in her head firmly each time, fighting against herself; her mind, she realized, was the worst of servants and she needed to be a stricter master in order to control it.

Even though she was with James, she still felt a sort of emptiness without Hermione there; she wondered if the only reason she had been able to fit in well in this world because she had someone with her who knew her for the real her and loved her for who she was… she wondered if she would go insane, as Hermione had a bit (in Ginny's opinion) in the week she had been absent from this world, if Hermione succeeded with her plan. How alone she would feel spending the rest of her life pretending to be someone else.

Ginny wanted Hermione to succeed, eventually, because they were friends even if they were not on speaking terms on right now; emotions don't fade that quickly, and happy memories together take even longer to forget. But more than that, she wished Hermione would decide to want to stay here, with her, to never judge her for choosing the easier way out; but most of all, she found herself wishing that she had been born Virginia Prewett instead of Ginevra Weasley; that she would have grown up here instead of this girl. If only… everything would be so much easier that way, she thought one night, lying next to James on the bed in the Head Boy's dormitories.

James had figured out the password (he had followed the current Head Boy in his Invisibility Cloak one night), and in an attempt to sweep Ginny off her feet, had invited them to spend time together. James's plan was foiled by Ginny's understandable reluctance to engage in any sexual activities with him. She told him this was because she wanted to start over and do things right this time. No more games, no more lies, no more hurting each other. At this James's eyes lit up; he could sense that she was sincere, and quickly agreed to the "deal", so to say.

Only after a day did it sink in for him that Virginia wouldn't normally do this; it was out of character for her to require romance, or even love. She always just got it, but never asked for it, in fact, she often pretended she didn't need it.

But sleeping next to each other each day, spending the entire day together, seeing her in her nightgown, sometimes peeking at her in the shower, he couldn't help but be aroused by her. He fantasized about making love to her daily. He caught himself imagining scenarios he felt Ginny would kill him for it he shared them with her; he couldn't decide if he liked this sort of "innocence," so to say, of Ginny. He had fallen in love with a girl who was very sexual; it was only now that they spent so much time together, that his friends and schoolwork and just school in general was no longer a distraction, that he was beginning to notice that Ginny seemed… much younger. There was no trace of the experiences Virginia had lived through – many of them with him – on her face. Her walk was much more reserved; James thought it was nun-like compared to the way she used to walk. All in all, he was not, after awhile, very turned on by Ginny. Not sleeping with her got easier with each day after this realization had sunk in; however, spending the entire day with her was starting to feel like a chore. This Ginny, this new Ginny, as he thought of her, was virginal, sweet, kind-hearted… and nothing like the girl of his dreams.

The girl of his dreams had been a hurricane who left everything destroyed in his wake. A whiny, moody girl, but very beautiful girl; he could never know what would happen with her and she always thrilled him. That beautiful smile of hers, and that naughty tingle in her warm brown eyes could always soothe his ruffled feathers after each time she stepped over that proverbial line. The girl of his dreams had the ability to surprise and excite him even after so many years of knowing each other; the best thing about the girl of his dreams was that she was ever-changing; however this inconsistency, the very thing he liked the most about her, was the thing he also hated the most. Because that meant he never knew how he would act with him one day after the other. Over all, he wanted this inconsistent girl to be constant with him; that would have flattered him more than anything. A part of him told him this was irrational and impossible, but in his heart of hearts, he believed that the day would come when Ginny would grow tired of being a player and choose him and his love. She would still be inconsistent in ways that didn't bother him but excited him, like getting mad at him over a little something and giving him a blowjob the next to apologize, then getting into a word fight with him and hitting him angrily; he knew it was abnormal, but having grown up in a small village with the world's most boring parents, he wanted this crazy, wealthy, worldly, enigmatic, beautiful girl and all that a relationship with her entailed. Moreover, despite her crazy ways, she was the only one, he thought, who had ever loved him for more than his money, because she had plenty of money of her own. Ginny loved being treated like a lady, but she rarely, if ever, had accepted him paying for something of hers, which made him want to do it all the more. The Ginny he knew and loved was sexual, but pure; the perfect combination. He didn't want a typical virginal village girl who was ready to be his one and only for the rest of his life – provided he pay for every little thing of hers and guide her through her life as one would a child. Granted not all village girls were like this, but this was the type that was attracted to him; all the others saw an arrogant toerag. But Virginia had seen through him; seen the vulnerability through the toughness; the kindness he harbored for his friends through the cruelty he treated his enemies with, and loved him for him, and he had loved her for herself as well.

This Ginny… this Ginny was boring. This Ginny was fiery, sure, but she was so boringly consistent; she would never wake her up with a tray full of delicacies she had made after making him sleep on the couch the day before; she… well, he knew she was everything he – or rather a regular boy – was supposed to want, but he was everything but normal in his own admission. Ginny reminded him of the epitome of everything his parents wanted for him; Ginny seemed like the kind of woman whom they could live a nice, ordinary, loving life with. But he wanted anything but. He wanted a hurricane.

Still waiting for the Ginny he knew and loved to return, he waited around until the day before Christmas to pop the question that had been eating away at him for quite some time.

"Did you… did you change, Ginny?" he asked. Ginny, who had been reading next to him, looked up from her book, surprised. "What do you mean? I've always been like this."

"Sure, you're funny, tough, and you always have a comeback at the ready, you're – I mean, sure your base qualities are the same. But you didn't use to be… you didn't use to be so…"

"So?" Ginny prompted.

"So calm!" James said at last. "You were… you were the fire that burned everything around you – in a good way, I mean – and I was the rain who could put you out, and make you calm down, even if only for a little while."

"You were the rain?" Ginny asked raising an eyebrow. The whole monologue and declaration of love had been ridiculous in Ginny's opinion but this was the part that had made her laugh internally the most.

The Ginny James knew had always appreciated his poetic flair.

"I was the rain," James repeated, his nose high in the air, offended and mad at the same time. "You were… you were not like this. We were always doing something. We pulled pranks. We went for walks. We…"

"Is that your problem? You wanna go for a walk?" Ginny asked.

James laughed. That was funny, admittedly, but the Ginny he knew paid attention to his emotions because she was a very emotional girl as well; even if she went around and broke his heart the next minute, the time they were together, even if in secret, she paid attention to his emotions in a way no one else was able to. But that was only because she was so emotional and flighty – like water. In fact, the Ginny he knew was so many things, and so inconsistent, it was very hard to define her.

"No," James said. "I don't wanna go for a walk."

He then forced himself to calm down. What he had wanted had finally come around. Ginny had changed; settled down; was finally able to love him consistently even if not perfectly. After all, were all those heartbreaks, that lasted sometimes even longer than the time they were together, worth it? Was the thrill and the excitement really that much more important than consistency? Was he really that stupid?

Despite trying to fight against his parents' dogma (as he called it) for so long, he now had to realize this was better for him, even if it felt strange, and he was not used to being permanently happy with her; he had never liked the pain, he had just endured it for her. He should not confuse endurance with actually liking something, he told himself firmly. His emotions, too, were all over the place sometimes; the fact that Ginny now seemed more consistent could be better for both of them.

"Never mind," he said at last before kissing Ginny tenderly on the lips. "I love you," he said, and let himself be happy for once, even if it went against his intuition; each time before it had felt right, even if he knew he was going to get hurt. Ironically, this was the first time James knew for sure that he was not going to get hurt, and this was the first time it felt infinitely wrong. Strange how life works, huh?, he thought.

* * *

Hermione had kept herself busy during the Holidays. Marlene's mother, her doppelganger's namesake, had a job at the Ministry, as did her father, though he occupied a less important post. The air was tense during the holidays; it was obvious Mr McKinnon didn't like not being the breadwinner and the head of the family, but even a blind idiot would have been able to see that he just wasn't cut out for either role. Moreover, despite his position in the family constantly wounding his ego, he wouldn't have given up the riches Mrs McKinnon was able to provide him with.

He found out Marlene McKinnon Jr. had a little brother from another father; apparently Mrs McKinnon had a relationship after they broke up for a two years; afterwards Marlene's father got back together with Marlene Halloway (her maiden name) under the pretext of "doing it for the kids."

The problem was really the following: Mr McKinnon couldn't stand his lover's authority over him and longed to be what he just wasn't made to be, and Marlene Sr. didn't like being the breadwinner and the subordinate at the same time, got sick of him, packed her bags and left – without their daughter. Mr McKinnon soon realized his mistake but didn't dare approach Marlene Sr because he knew he didn't have a chance with her after she had rejected him once. Things changed however when Marlene's new lover died, leaving behind a heart-broken widow and a one-year old child; Hermione could feel that Marlene Jr. did not one bit feel sorry for her mother and in fact thought she had deserved it for what she had put her daughter through. Hermione couldn't help but feel the same.

In fact, Marlene had several mental breakdowns after her parents' break up. Except for Ginny and a few others, all the people she thought had been her friends left her to deal with her misery alone. She then turned from an open, naïve kind-hearted girl into a stern, stiff and calculating person. Except with those whom she loved, especially Ginny, who had given her the most support during the worst period of her life. But there was a strain between them as well; ever since Ginny had slept with James and realized what power she could extort over others – especially men – she changed as well. She became a user, and Marlene had been extremely disappointed – even disgusted – with her. She had not liked the direction where Ginny had been heading, but stuck with her because Ginny was having problems too, except she dealt with them very differently than Marlene had; Marlene had retreated into her little shell, but Ginny opened up, went to every party, had a thousand fake friends, who always pulled her into nasty situations that, sadly, she seemed to enjoy. Hermione remembered Marlene feeling nauseated whenever Ginny recounted her escapades to her with her new friends.

"Marlene," her father said. "Marlene, are you paying attention?"

"No," Hermione said quite frankly, because that's just the girl Marlene was. Blunt. Or rather purposefully mean. Depending on who she was talking to.

Her father sighed then laughed to ease the tension; Mrs McKinnon was staring at Hermione so sternly, she almost felt like she was getting scolded by her own mother. Then she quickly turned away wanting to forget all about the feeling if possible.

"Come on, Marlene," Mrs McKinnon said. "We're having Christmas dinner together. The least you could do is pay attention to what's happening around you. It's not much to ask, is it? Or are we that boring?" She tried joking.

A wave of anger washed over Hermione, but she quelled it, knowing the anger was coming from Marlene not her and that it served no purpose right now.

"Sure," Hermione said. "Sure, sorry, Mom." Calling this unknown woman her mother felt ludicrous and like an insult to her actual mother, but there was no helping it.

The only thing that consoled her during this terrible holiday season were the things she had unearthed during it – some of it from Marlene's little sister, some of it from her own parents, and some of it from Marlene's enchanted diary, written in code, which she had partially figured out how to break. But she still had time. The Holiday season wasn't over just yet.

"Ginny," she said, approaching her in the Common Room the day after the holidays. She was sitting with a bunch of girls Hermione didn't know the names of – or cared –, and Hermione had to fight her self-consciousness in order to be able to approach her. She knew the only way Ginny would talk to her was if she made a big enough scene, or perhaps not even then – but one on one, she would just brush her off with a transparent, flimsy excuse. What surprised her was that Ginny was not sitting with James, as she had so often seen them together the past few weeks. "Ginny. Ginny!" each time she spoke her name Hermione raised her voice a little until the other witch could no longer ignore her.

"What?" the redhead snapped, turning to her irritably, brown eyes gleaming.

"We need to talk," she said. "I figured everything out."

Ginny looked like she was about to give in before she said, "I don't care. Do it on your own then."

Hermione gulped hard. "Are you sure that's what you want? I have everything figured out. I'd just need a little bit of help." her voice was pleading and sincere.

"We're not in this together," Ginny said. "Not anymore. I told you. Please don't talk to me again."

Hermione looked hurt and on the verge of tears. Ginny's heart sank but she decided not to give in to her feelings of guilt and sadness. Hermione took a deep breath and said, "I'll be reversing the effects of the thing we talked about next week. I have almost everything prepared." Ginny's eyes widened but she tried her best to conceal her interest. "If you change your mind…"

"I'm not going to," Ginny said, sounding firm but feeling anything but. "Forget about it. I'm staying here."

Hermione nodded, pulling a face, before pretending to shrug it off and saying, "Your loss."

"I doubt it."

"You've never been particularly intelligent." This was her last resort; she would never normally insult her friend, but desperate times called for desperate measures and she was desperately trying to rile her up, get a reaction out of her, anything to get her to change her mind –

Ginny smirked when she realized where this was going. "Goodbye, Hermione."

Hermione nodded, and, without another word, left.

Ginny felt victorious briefly after their encounter. When she realized she had just turned her best friend away, and that she would perhaps never see her again, she felt empty.

* * *

A/N: I can't believe we're already at Chapter 7 guys. The story will soon end.

What do you think about the new developments? Excited to hear your feedback, as always.

Thank you for your continued support! :)


	8. Chapter 8

_Chapter Eight_

 **S** eized by a feeling she couldn't quite describe – perhaps desperation, perhaps guilt, perhaps a mixture of the two –, Ginny sprang to her feet and ran after Hermione, jumping after her before the portrait hole closed. Hermione turned back, eyes sad, shoulders slumped, looking relinquished, with a dull sparkle of curiosity in her eyes.

"What?" Hermione's eyes didn't reach her eyes. Ginny got the peculiar feeling that Hermione was looking at her as though seeing her for the last time; observantly, trying to take in everything that she was so her memory could do the actual person justice.

"Hermione, I…" She couldn't say it. She didn't want to be swept back into the never-ending spiral of death, desperation and depression that her old world consisted of. "I…"

"What, Ginny?" Hermione prompted, smiling with just the tiniest hint of condescension, as though looking down at Ginny for her so-perceived cowardice. Maybe it was cowardice, Ginny thought, but she preferred to think of it as clinging to comfort. Perhaps clinging to comfort instead of stepping out of your comfort zone made one a coward; but if that was true, Ginny determined, most people were cowards. Not that it mattered; if she was a coward, she was a coward. The fact that other people were as well was a sad one, not one that redeemed her. Even if a thousand people thought gravity didn't exist, and only, let's say, one person did, that wouldn't make the other thousand right just because there was more of them. Truth wasn't always in the numbers.

"Hermione, I…" she said. "I just wanted to say goodbye." Her heart sank as she said this, as though a sudden weight was pulling it down.

Hermione tried to put up a strong exterior but the sides of her eyes were glistening with tears. "I'm sorry to hear that," she said, sniffling. She wiped the sides of her eyes but attempted to appear strong relentlessly, until she gave up altogether. Her sadness turned into a sort of desperate anger as she went on: "How could you do this to us, Ginny? Me, Harry, your brothers? How could you be so selfish – and so foolish? How long do you think it will take before people realize who you are?"

Ginny's face went ghastly pale. "Hermione, please, not here-"

"So it has come to this," Hermione said, standing at attention defiantly, sniffling, her voice tearful. "You have to deny the truth – not just in front of me, but in front of yourself – in order to still be able to look in the mirror. In order to still be able to like yourself."

Ginny was at a loss for words. She wanted to argue, but her brain came up blank when she strained it for counter-arguments, or just ripostes.

"I'm very disappointed in you," Hermione said, taking deep breaths, her eyes blood-shot and her face a blotchy, red color, "And so would everyone be if they knew what you were doing. And they _will_ be, when I go back and you stay here. How will I explain that, Ginny!? How!? How will I tell them I couldn't get you to come back?"

"So that's all you're worried about? Getting me back there so you wouldn't lose face?"

"Don't be silly, Ginny. You're deliberately missing the point," Hermione just seemed irritated now. "If you're going to be so ridiculously stubborn, there is no point in talking to you. But just keep in mind that I tried – I warned you before I left you to your fate."

"What are you trying to do? D'you think that by insulting me you're going to change my mind?"

"I don't think that. Oh, Merlin, I don't!" Hermione said, laughing, her eyes afire, her voice strong, laughing superciliously. "I'm just telling you my _opinion_. You're selfish, and you know it. You can't just take someone else's life and call it your own! What kind of person does that make you?"

Ginny looked around; the previously deserted corridor was presently filled with a few souls who were shamelessly watching the argument, two boys around the age of twelve to be precise. Ginny, eyes narrowed in anger, spat at them, "What's so interesting? Have you never seen a girl before?" The two boys looked taken aback, and then ran quickly when Ginny impatiently whipped out her wand and threatened to hex them. With them gone, Ginny turned back to Hermione. "I won't take this lecture from you. I had a chance for a better life, and I took it. What would you have done?"

"Not take someone else's life!"

"Oh, really? Like you're so different! You said it yourself, we traveled back here _together_ ," Ginny said, eyes narrowed into tiny slits; the anger she felt contorted her features until she looked feline, threatening, ready to pounce at the enemy.

Hermione didn't seem phased by her (attempted, in Hermione's opinion) display of pride and strength. She smiled condescendingly, which served to further anger the other witch. "If you only talked to me, you'd know what I'd unearthed. I found Marlene's diary – they were the ones who wanted to cast the spell. They were the ones who had switched our bodies. It's all in the diary. If you want, I can show it to you."

"Well then, they deserve it! That was their fate. I deserve a little happiness – they can suffer in that world as long as they want. Serves them for not appreciating their good fortune."

Hermione just shook her head. "You're hopeless!" she said. "I'm leaving. Never talk to me again."

Ginny's jaw dropped in astonishment. Minutes ago she had been the one to send Hermione away. How quickly the roles were reversed, she observed, stunned into silence. Deciding that she would look foolish yelling after a girl who was obviously not going to come back, especially not if she insulted her (and she was not going to beg for forgiveness!), she pretended to shrug it off, climbed in through the Portrait Hole, and never looked back.

* * *

 _"_ _Are you sure you want to do this?" Marlene asked as they were sitting outside, their faces lit by a campfire. "Won't your parents miss you?"_

 _"_ _I'm not sure, but if I did, I doubt they'd even notice I was gone," Ginny sighed. Her eyes looked sad as she watched the flame of the fire between them flicker. Then she smiled, as though she had suddenly reconciled with the fact. "But that doesn't matter, doesn't it? We're not other people's opinions of us, and we don't lose the value we have just because someone fails to see it in us."_

 _Marlene's face was unreadable; her eyes were alive, very much so, however. She looked like the cogs in her mind were whirring fast; she constantly had the look of working on a particularly difficult equation. She was restless, mistrustful, always on alert. Just her aura made Ginny uncomfortable, and sometimes – like right now – wondered why they were even friends anymore when they were miles away from the people they were when they had forged their bond. She thought it was ridiculous, and feared she was taking loyalty to an unnecessary extreme._

 _She felt she was sacrificing her time uselessly, as being with Marlene was no longer fun or uplifting. Marlene was constantly complaining about her familial situation; she was always jealous of Ginny's friends and success with boys; she was smart but she didn't study and railed against those who did, calling them suck-ups and teacher's pets. All in all, since Marlene was unable to deal with her own life, she had become miserable, and since misery loves company, she tried spreading that hatefulness and bitterness onto others, mostly unsuccessfully._

 _Even though Ginny felt sorry for her, she could not help think that Marlene was ruining her own life by being so damn miserable instead of appreciating all that she had been given. She had had a long romance with Sirius, that left the latter so heartbroken when it ended that even after months he was still holding onto hope that she would one day love him again. No one – not even Ginny – could understand why, but love was mysterious. Obviously Marlene made Sirius feel a certain way that no one else did, otherwise, he wouldn't have held onto her – or rather her memory – so tightly even after all hope was lost for reconciliation._

 _"_ _Are_ you _sure you want to do this?" Ginny asked, turning back the question on Marlene. It was obvious that she was hoping for a negative answer._

 _Marlene blinked in surprise before saying, "I… I… I don't know," she said in a low voice, looking at her hands, avoiding Ginny's eyes at any cost, fidgeting. "I mean… what else do we have? What other choice?"_

 _Ginny arched an eyebrow; this hadn't been the response she had expected. "We always have a choice, Marlene. That's what Gryffindor is all about. Bravery. Only cowards hide behind excuses like 'Oh, I didn't have a choice'," she said at last._

 _Marlene didn't seem to like that response. She looked miffed but her voice was carefully controlled: "Yes, but sometimes there is only one appealing option, don't you think?"_

 _"_ _I'm not sure if I want to do this," Ginny repeated firmly, getting to her feet and dusting herself off. "I'm going back now, inside the Castle. I'm cold as hell. Aren't you coming?"_

 _Marlene looked like she wanted to say no, just to contradict Ginny, but realized that without the Cloak she wouldn't be able to sneak back and her rule-breaking would cost them precious house-points. The brunette then nodded, resigned, and climbed under the Cloak with her… friend? She didn't even know where they were standing anymore. She felt betrayed at Ginny's reluctance to be part of her plan, even if she wasn't sure she was ready to go through with it. Weren't friends supposed to support you unconditionally? Wasn't that what loyalty was all about? Ginny was her only friend, and she had put her trust in her; why was she abandoning her? Did all those years mean nothing to her?_

 _She slept fitfully that night while Ginny fell into a deep, comfortable, peaceful sleep._

* * *

 _"_ _I love you," James said. "I love you, I love you, I love you!"_

 _The scene played out after New Year's Eve, the first time they had gotten together, and James couldn't get enough of her. The girl who had always supported him. The girl who was part of almost all of his happy memories. The girl – the first and perhaps the only one – to make him laugh, really laugh; not those low chuckles, but the hearty, roaring, true laughter._

 _Ginny didn't respond, just laughed heartily, uproariously, head thrown back, her eyes alit with joy, and kissed him passionately. James had never been kissed like that before; the hairs on his arms and the back of his neck stood up. Not to mention something else..._

 _But he wanted to hear it. He wanted to hear her say it. He was panicking – he didn't get it. Why wasn't she saying it back?_

 _Her eyes danced with joy, but now that he looked harder, he could tell – even if reading people was not his forte, he largely just went with his instinct – that it was of the mischievous kind. Before he could think about what that meant, she said, laughing, "I love you! I love you so, so much!" she kissed him again, but he broke away fairly quickly. He wanted to see her. See her smile. He thought that would be much more romantic than kissing. She wasn't such a good kisser, by the bye, but he didn't mind; it was something he would teach her, he thought with a swell of pride. Ginny looked at him, eyes shining, smiling ear-to-ear. The first time James conjured a Patronus, this was the moment he had thought of, the time he and Ginny officially got together._

* * *

Looking back on the memory now, James thought what memory Ginny could have recalled the first time she had conjured a Patronus. He wondered if the memory had been related to him in any way. The possibility of it having nothing to do with him made shivers run down his spine. It wouldn't have been out of character for Ginny to be so… _unattached_ to him – after all, that is what their entire relationship had been about, and her detachment was the cause of their many breakups… but if that was true, he thought, he really was a mighty fool. His parents had been right, perhaps, and he should have gone out with a girl from the village he was from. His parents would have set him up with a nice one, no doubt… perhaps that'd be less of a hassle. There would be no aces up anyone's sleeves. The cards would be all laid out on the table, and everybody would know what they were dealing with.

But he craved the excitement, the ups and downs, and everything that he thought romance was supposed to entail. It was slowly killing him, admittedly, but it was better than the alternative: dying of boredom.

His entire life had been a big joke, he felt, until Hogwarts. He had always obeyed his parents, done everything according to their wishes; slowly, they were squishing every bit of manliness, independence out of their son, choking him with their over-bearing attitudes. Luckily, before that happened, he was enrolled at Hogwarts and met Sirius Black. Sirius was the epitome of everything James had never even dared to think of becoming, afraid of his parents' wrath, but everything he had secretly craved to be. But with his parents not around at school… he grew bolder, until he grew bold enough to assert himself even in front of his parents. All thanks to Sirius.

In fact, lots of things in his life and other's lives were thanks to the positive influence of Sirius's friendship. Had James not met Sirius, he would have never been able to help the shy, emotional and slightly weird Ginny transform into the funny and confident girl she now was. She was still emotional, granted, but at least she was able to hide it well. Kind of like him. Sirius was the only one who was truly tough, though Merlin only knew how, because all he had ever gotten, James thought, was shit from his parents. But the rest of the family adored him - James guessed that somehow made up for it for Sirius, even though it might not have been enough for James had the roles been reversed.

But it was more than enough for Sirius. His ego was so inflated, in fact, that when people said that he was overconfident, he took it as a complement and said, "I sure hope so," and truly meant it. And just why did his parents hate him, you may ask? Sirius was half-blood, but his parents, even as it was, were big supporters of the notion of blood purity; his father considered himself to be a Pureblood, or just as good as, even though he was Muggleborn, but, according to him, "not like the other 'Mudbloods.'" He was special, he thought. In reality, however, they were very mediocre and were in possession of no great wealth; Sirius always said that they used the notion of blood purity as an emotional clutch, to feel better about their mediocre lives. Sirius, having never been exposed to the real world, living in an inherited mansion in Scotland with seven also inherited house elves and only meeting his parents' kids and friends, initially fell for it too. (This is something Sirius looked back on with great shame, even if he was just an easily influenced kid at the time - as all kids were.)

All that changed, however, when he came to Hogwarts. He stuck out of traditionalist circles like a sore thumb. He slowly came to the realization that everything he had been taught by his parents had very little, if any, connection to reality. He didn't like that much meaner and much dumber people were praised in these circles solely for their ancestry, while he was considered "slightly better than pondscum." He didn't feel like fighting the battle his father had fought in order to be accepted. He was repulsed by these people, and had no desire to prove anything to them. He went to find friends elsewhere. Moreover, he learned a lesson for life: it's always better to go where you're celebrated instead of where you're merely tolerated. He would never forget this lesson till the day he died. He had also made a promise to himself to never, ever become like his parents.

Another thing that connected them, James thought, was that both of their parents were controlling, and wanted their sons to follow an ideology the sons in question didn't agree with. That is, most likely why they were best friends, among other things.

And they still had it a lot easier than Ginny – they could perhaps never fully understand her situation, but they were always there to support her. That was the most they could do for her as friends.

But they had gone a step further – he and Ginny. Now, he felt, he had an even greater responsibility. He, as her friend, confidante and lover, had to take care of her, the way her parents never had, the way her sister was too jealous to, the way everyone else neglected to. That, he thought, was the only way he could save this beautiful soul from self-destruction. And what a loss would this girl to be to the world! If only it wasn't so intent on breaking her down, she could save it from itself. As it was, James had to save Ginny from others and herself as well. But he didn't mind. Being a savior was noble; being a knight was noble.

Hurting himself in order to change Ginny was not the problem. The problem wasn't even that Ginny took advantage of this.

The problem was Ginny _now_.

The Ginny he loved had a rich emotional world. This Ginny, the New Ginny, seemed to have a much less developed emotional range. She was tough on both the inside and the outside, and James found himself missing the old Ginny's secret softness. This new Ginny was not one that cheered him on no matter what he did, that listened to all his woes and troubles, not the one… just not the one, in general. He wasn't able to put it into words - despite Ginny's insistence his poetic flair wasn't very developed -, but he could feel something was terribly wrong.

One day, seized by a sudden inspiration when he saw Marlene McKinnon, he ran after her and decided to talk to her, which he hadn't down in a long time ever since her breakup with Sirius.

* * *

"Marlene! Marlene, please!" James Potter yelled, catching up with the brown-haired girl.

"What's with you calling me Marlene all of a sudden?" Hermione asked, turning back to him, eyelids droopy, looking exhausted, on the verge of dropping to the floor. She looked like she hadn't slept in days, which surprised James because Marlene was neither an active student or an active socializer. What could have kept her up for so long? She looked pitiful.

"I need to talk to you," James said, then went on to explain the reason for his change of heart towards her. "It's not about you, or me, or us, or Sirius, but Ginny. She's both of our friend. And she's been acting weirdly lately – haven't you noticed?"

"Like what?" Hermione asked, pretending to be ignorant on purpose. "What do you mean?"

"Oh, come on, Marlene! Surely you have noticed. First I thought I might be imagining things, blowing things out of proportion, I mean, everybody's nature is inconsistent to certain levels-"

"Which one of your bloody novels did you get that from?" Hermione asked scathingly, remembering some of Marlene McKinnon's entries in her diary.

James blushed in embarrassment. "I don't _read-_ " he insisted.

"Why are you so ashamed of it?" Hermione asked. "You don't have to keep doing what Sirius is doing to be cool. Why are you hero-worshipping him, anyway?"

"Don't try to make this about me," James said. "Ginny. This is about Ginny. What's up with her recently? You have to know. You two are best friends."

" _Were_ ," Hermione corrected. "Ask her. If she wants to tell you, she will. She changed, James, yes, but isn't it for the better? At least you don't have to worry about getting your heart broken and then trying to put the broken pieces back together… just to have her break it again once you finally manage that. I mean, James, how was that healthy for you?"

"Who are _you_ to question any of that?" James demanded. "Besides, she is your friend. Just because you had a quarrel doesn't mean anything. If you were truly her friend, you'd stick with her even now. So, some friend you are. The reason she's so fucked up is because everyone she put her trust in the wrong people. Like you."

Hermione looked stunned - James Potter really, truly loved Virginia Prewett. But she wasn't friends with Virginia Prewett, but Ginevra Weasley, and was going to be faithful to her till the end, no matter what James thought - he didn't know anything anyway. "I'm just trying to help you! Why are you trying to ruin your relationship with her? She's tough, she's funny, she's secure – she's everything you've ever wanted her to be. Please tell me how I am _not_ sticking with her even if we're 'broken up'," she demanded.

James didn't know what to say to that. "She's not herself." he repeated, like a broken record, wondering why the girl in front of him pretended still not to get it. "What have you _done_ to her?"

"Done to her? She's finally not an emotional wreck and you're _sad_ about that?"

"She's not herself, Marlene," James insisted. "I don't know what you've done to her but I'm going to figure it out and once I do, you're going to pay the price. You've been crazy for a long time, Marlene, and I've been looking the other way for Ginny's sake, but-"

"Stop!" Hermione snapped. She realized she could no longer keep up this charade, and things were already lost for Ginny. Lies were no longer going to get them anywhere; the truth was possibly their only option if they wanted things to end well. "I'll – I'll tell you everything."

* * *

A/N: So... kind of a long chapter, but a lot of things had to be included. Not many chapters left. Hope you found this intriguing. Waiting for your input.


	9. Chapter 9

_Chapter Nine_

 _"_ _ **A** re you sure you don't want to do this?" Marlene said._

 _Ginny looked uncomfortable as though perfectly aware of Marlene's feelings but choosing to go through with her own plan anyway. Ungrateful, Marlene thought, burning with hatred, seething with anger. It took everything she had to maintain her control over herself and not cause the maddeningly beautiful redhead any harm. That's what she deserves, she kept thinking, it's not fair that she gets everything while I'm left with nothing. And that she doesn't even care even though I'm supposed to be her best friend._

 _"_ _I am," Ginny said. "Look, Marlene – I was at an all-time low when I came up with that plan."_

 _"_ _Exactly, it was your idea," Marlene argued._

 _"_ _I know, that's what I just said," Ginny was impatient. "And I'm saying it's a big pile of horseshit, now that I think about it rationally."_

 _"_ _So you couldn't think for three months about it rationally? After all the lengths we went to to figure this out? You're saying we should give up?" Marlene hissed, her eyes narrowed into tiny slits._

 _"_ _Yes, because as I said, we broke up with James, and then I-"_

 _Marlene wanted to strangle her. James this, James that. She was sick of hearing about Ginny's perfect boyfriend! How was it fair that Ginny couldn't even appreciate James, while he did everything for her? Why did guys like him always fall for girls like Ginny? Why wouldn't they ever look at someone like Marlene? Why was she stuck with domineering loud-mouths who everybody thought they should be grateful for just because they were attractive and popular? Looks and status were not everything, especially when they came to Sirius Black. She couldn't help but think of Sirius with revulsion._

 _"_ _So you got back together," Marlene said meanly, enjoying it thoroughly. "And how long is it till your next breakup, do you think? Before you get mad at something insignificant, blow off his head, and whine to me about how all men are the same? Why can't you get over past injustices, Ginny?"_

 _"_ _You don't understand, do you?" Ginny screeched. "You want everybody to understand and tolerate and love you and be patient with you but you're unwilling to do the same for anybody else and wonder why you're left with nothing. There, I said it! I tried to be your friend for so long but it's too much."_

 _"_ _Is that what you think?" Marlene felt murderous and she needed to take breaths to keep her explosive temper at bay. She felt betrayed that Ginny had, for so long, thought so negatively of her and never once said a word. Had she said something to her little boyfriends? Oh, of course she did! "Shove your unneeded opinion up your ass then. I bet it's spacious after James has had you so many times,"_

 _Ginny looked like she was on the verge of tears at the insinuation, but strangely, Marlene didn't feel satisfied. Maybe because she sensed that their friendship had been broken forever. There was one thing Ginny didn't tolerate, and it was slut-shaming, especially if anyone tried to make her feel bad for sleeping with the same boy multiple times. Marlene knew she had gone over the line, but she had really, really wanted to make Ginny hurt as much as she was hurting. Hurting others eased her own pain, even if temporarily; it made her believe, if only for a short time, that life was fair and the people she hated and was jealous of could feel pain akin to her own sometime._

 _"_ _You're ridiculous," Ginny said. "It's time for you to get your head out of your own arse and realize that the world isn't as unfair to you as you think. Yes, terrible things happened to you but now they're over and your mother is trying to make everything right. Yes, your mother is a terrible woman, but all our parents are fucked up to varying degrees. What makes your situation so special? I guess none of the things that happen to others mean anything to you because only your own pain counts. You keep focusing your attention on people who you think have it better than you while you know absolutely nothing about their lives! I mean, hello, people think our lives are perfect and we're all sorts of fucked up._

 _And you know what I realized? There_ are _lots of great things about our lives, but we fail to realize it. I tried to take out all the pain I have been dealt on James instead of just appreciating him, even though he truly loved me. I'm going to focus on the fact that I can do fucking magic while half the population is happy if they ever see a firework show in their life. That I have great friends who have supported me through my darkest times, saw me for everything that I am and still chose to remain by my side. That's what I'm going to concentrate on. Not – not anything else," it seemed like her past was still too difficult for her to speak about, but she was slowly coming to terms with it. "You should concentrate on things that are going well for you, too. For example, you had Sirius, who was madly in love with you, but you cheated on him with Nott, a Slytherin of all people, and he still loves you. He's just waiting for you to apologize so he can finally forgive you."_

 _"_ _The only reason he does that is because beneath his inflated ego he's fragile and vulnerable. He's a phony. He's not as tough as he pretends to be; he'd never show that side to any of you though because he's afraid of losing face."_

 _"_ _Oh, come on, Marlene! Everybody has a soft side. Even you do."_

 _"_ _I don't_ love _Sirius." Marlene repeated._

 _"_ _OK," Ginny said. "Well, that happens. Then just be with someone you like."_

 _"_ _I love Nott. While he…"_

 _"_ _Oh, come on, Marlene! You're not so innocent. You cheated on your boyfriend and then you complain the world is unfair for not being able to get together with the boy you cheated on him with. Come on! Marlene, you're not an innocent victim anymore, as much as you'd like to think you are. Being hurt by others doesn't mean you're allowed to hurt others without consequences."_

 _"_ _Yeah, except I'm the only one who deals with the consequences of their actions. Everybody else gets off scot-free," Marlene scoffed._

 _"_ _Oh, yes, the world has conspired against you! Don't be so ridiculous. I'm done with you. And I'm going to go back and fix my life while you sit here wallowing in your eternal, self-made misery._ Goodbye." _Ginny grabbed her bags, slung them over her shoulder, and strode off, never looking back._

 _It took a few moments for all that had happened to really sink in for Marlene. Ginny, after their countless arguments, was finally giving up on her. Marlene had feared for a long time that this would happen, but she had been holding onto hope despite all evidence to the contrary. The flame of anger that she had attempted to keep at bay turned into a full-fledged fire and she let it take over her. She would not let anyone walk over her anymore, and get away scot-free. She would not let people cause her pain only to live happily ever after._

 _"_ _Ginny? Ginny, please wait!" Marlene said, careful to make her voice sound apologetic and meek. "What now!?" Ginny snapped finally in response to her pleas, turning back irritably. She looked like if Marlene had apologized, she would have forgiven her. But Marlene had no intention of humiliating herself that way. "Stupefy!" she cried, and watched Ginny fall back on the ground like a corpse with satisfaction._

 _This cow is not going to get away with anything anymore, Marlene thought contentedly. Finally, the world was coming full circle. Bad people would get their punishments while good people like her would get their happy ending. Soon, all would be well – at least for her, and that was all she cared about._

* * *

James and who he thought to be Marlene strode down to the dungeons to one of the Potions classroom. She banged the door open, only to find Lily Evans there, cutting up the ingredients for a potion, a textbook and a cauldron in front of her, humming to herself, seeming happier than she ever looked between classes. Ginny's friend hadn't told James exactly where they were going or who they were going to talk to; all that she had told him was that they were going to get answers from someone, and she didn't require his assistance but if he wanted to find out what had happened to Ginny, he was welcome to tag along.

James attempted to pry, but the witch refused to tell him anything. After a while, he gave up. Moreover, after she had promised to explain everything to him in due time, it was as though an invisibility cloak had fallen off her personality and revealed her true identity. She started acting like a completely different person.

James was beginning to suspect what was going on, but he told himself his imagination was simply too fertile. He told himself what he thought was impossible. He felt so stupid for not having noticed the obvious change in Marlene he wasn't sure he really wanted her to outright say what the truth was sooner than necessary - even though part of him was dying to discover what had happened -, knowing it would make him feel like a colossal fool.

"Evans!" Hermione yelled to the red-haired girl, who jumped back in surprise, giving a little yelp.

"What are you doing here, you filth? Get out! You have no business here!" Evans yelled back when she had gotten over the initial shock caused by the pair's arrival.

But she meant no threat, Hermione knew; perhaps it was better that James had come along, at least this way there was more of them and less of the enemy. Sometimes, when things did not go according to the plan, they were for the best, she thought.

James longed to ask how the witch knew that Lily Evans out of all people would be here today, alone, and not accompanied by her lackeys; even if he would have asked, Hermione would not have told him just yet that she had found out from Marlene's diary that Lily Evans liked spending time alone here after classes to work on her potion skills. Despite her high social status and the popularity it granted her in certain circles, Lily preferred to be alone than "badly accompanied."

James wanted to know what Lily Evans had to do with all of this, but since he loathed Evans and thought the worst of her, it wasn't a stretch for him to imagine that he could be behind terrible things. "Oi, you bitch, why don't you turn back and listen to what the lady has to say," James said, wanting to be helpful, and knowing he could not do anything else at the moment as he was not exactly in the know.

"The lady?" Lily repeated, laughing haughtily. "Merlin's beard, since when has Marlene McKinnon been a lady? What with cheating on Sirius et al?"

James looked taken aback. "What? Did you really-?" Sirius had told her that Marlene had broken up with him because she said she liked someone else, but not that she had cheated on her. Despite himself, even though he didn't have a high opinion of Marlene - never had, to be honest -, he still wouldn't have thought that she was capable of such betrayal.

"No," Hermione said. "That was not me-" which was true enough.

"Oh, as if! Come on, Marlene! Admit it, you're a mess." Lily insisted.

"Not anymore," Hermione said. "The girl you think you know doesn't live here anymore," she said. "But I bet you knew that."

Lily's eyes widened, then she attempted to hind her surprise. "Well, well. So you have figured it out," she started clapping slowly, her smile mocking. "Congratulate yourself. Now that you have, what are you going to do about it?"

James looked so lost Lily was about to make a comment on it, but Hermione impatiently cut in, "We're going to reverse the spell," she insisted.

"Are you?" Lily asked with mock curiosity.

"Yes, and you're going to be very helpful in that, aren't you?" Hermione said.

"Am I? I doubt that." Lily said. "I was helping Marlene when I helped her escape her life. I have no interest in helping _you_. Marlene is in a better place now, and if you possessed even the tiniest bit of empathy, you would-"

"Marlene is nowhere! Marlene is here, with me, in this body-" Hermione said. She hadn't even heard the rest of the redheaded girl's sentence.

Lily looked stunned and then burst out laughing. "Oh, is that what you think!? What has stayed inside you is only a _piece_ of Marlene's soul. A part that is no longer connected with the brain of the vessel she now inhabits. Oh, come on, did you honestly think Marlene would be such a fool?"

"You need to reverse the effects of the spell," Hermione insisted, not knowing what else to say all of a sudden. Her calculations have been proven to be false, but she didn't want to dwell on it, much less show how stunned that realization left her; she did not want to give her enemy that satisfaction.

"What spell?" James said, not knowing what was going on. He was unable to keep to himself any longer. He had been promised answers, but all that he was getting was a front-row seat to a quarrel between two people he did not care the tiniest bit about.

"Shut up for a minute," Hermione commanded, making Lily laugh.

"Oh, James Potter, the eternal white knight! Always here to save the day. Not that he's ever needed - not even his own parents like him very much, and no wonder - but he'd do anything to feel wanted. I mean, that's why you chose such a mess of a girl to date as Virginia Prewett, isn't that right?" Lily went on.

"Shut the hell up," James said, whipping out his wand furiously. He was burning with hatred for the witch in front of him, whom he had trouble seeing as human. Humans were supposed to have tender sides; were supposed to have positive feelings; were supposed to hurt; Lily seemed like nothing would ever phase her, not even the death of her own parents.

"At least about this," Hermione said, whipping her own wand out and pointing it at Lily Evans. "Now, you'll tell me all about how you got into the Ministry, what you stole and where it is right now, and what we have to do to reverse the effects of the spell."

Lily seemed to be considering her options, the tiniest hint of fear in her large, green eyes. "And what if I don't? Are you going to kill me?"

"No," Hermione said. "I'm going to expose everything you did to the entire world. Your mother's going to lose her job at the Ministry, and you'll become social pariahs. Your blood status and wealth won't help that. You broke the law. You might even go to jail. Do you want me to go on?"

Lily looked downright fearful. James never thought he'd see her appear so helpless, but he told himself not to feel sorry for her; she was an evil witch according to everyone in Gryffindor, and for a reason. The fact that she was capable of feeling fear didn't make her human, or in any way relatable, just a coward who had been caught. "Alright," Lily said, gulping hard. "I'll you everything I know. But only, and only, if you promise never to talk about it to anyone." she said.

James and Hermione exchanged glances. James had very little idea what was at stake, and Hermione didn't know whether to make this compromise or not.

"If you don't promise," Lily continued. "You'll be stuck in this world forever, because I won't tell you anything."

"I think you're in no position to bargain here," Hermione reminded her. "I'll tell the teachers. I show them Marlene's diary. I have plenty of proof."

James briefly wondered why she was talking about herself in the third person. His theory was seemingly confirmed, but he was still unable to believe it.

"That won't be enough to make them believe you," Lily insisted. "My parents have connections at the Ministry. They'll make sure this is kept under lock and key. It's not in anyone's best interest to reveal to the whole world that a bunch of kids could break into the Ministry and upset the balance of every single universe in the world."

It was now crystal clear, James thought, what had happened.

"Oh, on the contrary," Hermione said. "The public loves a great scandal."

"The Minister doesn't want to leave the office, though," Lily said. "He'll squish you and your stupid little teachers like bugs to protect himself."

"Alright," Hermione said. "I'll make a deal. I'll never tell anyone in your world about this, except for those who already know."

"Make him promise too," Lily said.

"I promise too," James said quickly with no intention of keeping his promise. Bad people _needed_ to be punished. His sense of justice had always been very developed. "Just spit it out, what did you do? What happened?" he demanded.

Lily smirked, clearly reveling in James's misery. Now that what the obvious (Lily thought) had dawned on him, he looked like he was about to lose it. "No, no, that's not enough! How am I supposed to trust you? You have to take the Unbreakable Vow to never, ever go back on your word. Did you really think I would just take your _word_ for it? That'd you keep your mouths shut? You'd tell the whole world the minute you left this room."

"We're not taking the Vow," Hermione said immediately. "I'll take my chances if you don't spit it out. I'll tell McGonagall and Dumbledore and everyone else. The Minister has enough enemies even within the Ministry; don't be so sure that he'll be squish everyone."

Lily looked furious, knowing she had been cornered; whoever was now in possession of Marlene's body seemed fearless. Even if Lily kept quiet, and Marlene's doppelganger went through with her threat, there was a chance Lily would win; but she didn't like her chances enough to risk it. Too many things could go wrong, and she hadn't been able to convince the doppelganger that she, Lily would doubtlessly win in the end. "Fine. I'll tell you. But you're not going to like it one bit."

* * *

A/N: Oh, well... can't keep these chapters to myself! Tell me your opinions.


	10. Chapter 10

_Chapter Ten_

 **A** fter she was finished with her story, James wanted to strangle Lily Evans. This wretched witch was the reason he had lost the love of his worthless life. It was very hard not to be mad at the brown-haired girl beside her either – she had insisted that she was not Marlene, but it was hard for James to wrap his mind around that concept because she looked exactly like her. Even in a world of magic, there were things beyond one's wildest imagination – because as everything, even magic had its limits. And this was beyond the limit of magic that he thought he would ever see in his own life – in fact, more than he had ever _wanted_ to see. That such things could happen to innocent people, and all it took was a decision by a couple of bad people, turned his entire world upside down.

Hermione herself was seething with rage inside after hearing Lily's account of the story. How dare do these spoiled brats do this to other people? Their inability to appreciate their own, rather fortunate lives, was mind-boggling… and because of their selfishness, they had not only stolen precious time from her and Ginny's lives, ripping them cruelly out of their own world, they also very nearly even destroyed their souls.

"You should be grateful, if you ask me," Lily said finally, seemingly not perturbed by the hateful glares she was on the receiving end of. In fact, she seemed to be rather at ease, relishing in the misfortune of others. That, perhaps, was the only thing that made her happy. "I mean, sure, you were ripped out of your little worlds, but as you said, your doppelganger's lives are so much easier, aren't they? You said these people were unable to appreciate their good fortune, but really, how are you better? You long to return a world with war and danger… how foolish and ungrateful are you?"

Hermione's eyes were clouded with rage, and she had to take deep breaths in an attempt compose herself. But she could no longer take the redhead's taunting and finally gave into anger and punched Lily square in the nose. A few moments of stunned silence followed the action. James stared at Hermione incredulously, while Hermione blushed the tiniest bit, ashamed of her outburst, and Lily struggled to gather her wits.

"Typical of a Mudblood…" Lily hissed at last after she had composed herself, massaging the bridge of her nose, when she finally managed to get herself together. "A true witch wouldn't try to handle things with a punch. _Barbarian_."

"I guess hexing or cursing someone doesn't qualify as brute force, and is not barbaric in any way then," Hermione said coldly. "There's literally no difference between the two. You have no idea what you're talking about. You complete moron." She attempted to conceal just how much Lily's bigoted words hurt, even though this sort of discrimination always did, no matter how many times people told her not to pay attention to it, or that blood purists were wrong… their insults still stung. She could conquer the world, but to some people, she would always just be a _Mudblood._ The thought, depending on her mood and the situation, could both sadden and infuriate her. There was no in between; she found it impossible to be indifferent.

Lily just smiled in response; she could obviously sniff out Hermione's true feelings, and reviled in them. Hermione felt so angry and frustrated that she was on the verge of tears, but she steeled herself. "If you like wizard solutions better, here's one for you," she pointed her wand at Lily, who had mistakenly thought Hermione wouldn't go that far; she thought that the pure, noble Gryffindors would never actually go through with their threats. " _Stupefy_!"

Lily fell to the floor lifelessly.

Hermione was still breathing heavily moments after, as James stared disbelievingly. "I – what – what did you – what will you -"

"I had to," Hermione said. "I don't know what to do with her. I think maybe we should Obliviate her, but I – I don't know. She made me so mad, I lost control. Scratch that, I didn't _lose_ control. I let go of it intentionally. I couldn't let her go on like that. I have my pride too, you know. I can't let her treat me like that."

James nodded. "I know… I just didn't want to intervene. I didn't know if I should,"

"Yeah," Hermione said. She translated as not caring enough to intervene; but perhaps he really had no idea what to do, how would she know? She barely knew anything about Harry's father, let alone the James Potter of this universe.

"I'm sorry, really," James insisted. "I thought if I intervened I might actually kill her. I really should have done something though. Hateful cow," he said, staring at Lily, transfixed. It looked like he had always wanted to hex her but helped back for some reason – perhaps, most probably, because she was a girl and she had never hexed her either. The girl standing next to her had just fulfilled his dreams, and he now thought of her with slight awe.

"Yes, she is," Hermione said. "Did you get your answers, then?"

James nodded. "Yes," he said. "My mind's still reeling over it all, though. So you're not – you're not actually Marlene. Even though you look just like her."

"Yes, that's right," Hermione said. "That is why they chose us. Out of all possible versions of reality, we were the ones who looked most like them and were most like them personality-wise as well. And, for some reason, they wanted our lives. I can't wrap my head around that one, though."

The witch then sighed, and her knees buckled and she sat down on one of the chairs, leaning back and staring at the ceiling. "I think I'm about to drop dead from exhaustion. I've been reading this wretched Marlene girl's diary. If what Lily said was true, then, she lied about a lot of things."

"Like what?" James said.

"In her diary, Marlene said that Ginny wanted to come with her. But Lily didn't say that. She said she did it for Marlene. She never once said she did it for Marlene. Ginny wasn't even part of her story."

"What makes you think that she's telling the truth?"

"She didn't like Ginny," Hermione said. "Isn't that obvious? By the way she talked about her. She hated her so much she couldn't even hide it. Ginny was everything she was not – pure, and loved by a man who would do anything for her. What did _she_ have? Money, social status, and a bunch of fake friends who only liked her because her parents decided to marry their own cousins," James laughed at that.

"No, but really," Hermione said. "No wonder she's so damn unhappy. No wonder they were all so damn messed up. All glamour on the outside, but their lives are rotten on the inside, and they don't know how to get out of that damn mess." She sneaked a peek at the still unconscious Lily, and shook her head, as though shaking the sympathy away furiously.

"But that doesn't give them an excuse to hurt others, upset the balance of the universe, rip people out of their own worlds, and… I mean, there's a point where I stop feeling sorry for people no matter what happened to them – when they start doing terrible things to others. That is when they go from innocent victims to perpetrators, and perpetrators, regardless of their past, do not deserve pity. There are plenty of people who bad things happen to and get over it and deal with it in much healthier ways. These people are _bad._ "

James looked forlorn. "But Ginny… Ginny…"

"No," Hermione said. "Your girlfriend didn't want to go. I just told you. Didn't you listen to this stupid girl's story? She said she and Marlene sneaked into the Ministry. She never mentioned Ginny while in the diary entry it was very clearly stated that Ginny was with them." Hermione shook her head. "One of them are lying, and I don't know which one, or why…" Hermione buried her head in her hands and she looked like she was about to explode.

James put an arm on her shoulders comfortingly. Hermione froze, shocked by the gesture, then, unable to take it any longer, she burst out crying. James stood there, not knowing what to do; finally he started caressing her back to soothe her. Hermione took only a few minutes to re-compose herself. She stood up, dusted the back of her skirt off, wiped the sides of her eyes and took a deep breath.

"This girl was lying," she determined at last. "She's covering for Marlene till the end. She didn't tell us the truth. And Marlene was lying in her diary as well. They're _both_ lying."

"How are you so sure?"

"I thought I'd gotten lucky, but I mean what are the chances that Marlene McKinnon would have actually left a diary? I thought she'd just been silly, or – I don't know – come to think of it, all the enchantments around it were not very hard to take off – just hard enough for me not to suspect that it had been planted there on purpose – but it was. Maybe it wasn't even Marlene who planted it there. Maybe…"

"Hermione," James said. Hermione looked up, surprised that he had used her real name; it felt weird to call a girl who looked exactly like Marlene another name. "Marlene hadn't always been quite – sane. In fact, it was Ginny who had always been too trusting because she was pure and she was desperate for love and friendship. I hadn't liked Marlene for a long time and the boys, except for Sirius, had shared this sentiment. Marlene could have easily left it there on purpose, or just lied in her diary because she couldn't deal with reality, or Ginny rejecting her. And remember Evans's first reaction? _'Marlene's in a better place now.'_ She didn't say Ginny and Marlene are. I'm sure that reaction was genuine; she hadn't expected us to be here and was panicking. After that, she calmed down considerably and I'm sure she had prepared this story a long time ago, so she wasn't that nervous about reciting that. It's improvising she's not very good at."

Hermione considered it. "It's a theory."

"So is what you said." James countered.

Hermione nodded, pensive. "I… I think I'm going to trust you. We have to revive her, wipe her memory, and then feed her Veritaserum once… have you ever made it?"

James shook his head. "No," he said. "But Sirius is good at Potions. He might be able to help."

Hermione said, "Only if he's able to keep his mouth shut. If not, I'll do the potion myself."

James said, "He's able to."

Silence.

Hermione finally asked the question that had been weighing her down for quite some time. "So, what do we do about Ginny? The one from my world, who's in love with you?"

Neither of them had an answer to that.

* * *

"What you're saying – you're saying that Marlene teamed up behind our backs with a damn Slytherin out of all people, and traveled time and through dimensions?" Sirius asked. The three of them were sitting in the Room of Requirement, which had, for the moment, transformed itself into the old – or new? – DA headquarters. "And she did it with Ginny?"

"They did it _to_ Ginny," Hermione corrected. "Ginny didn't want to go. At least we don't think so."

"But you're basing this on something that old cow told you," Sirius said. "I'm sorry, but – I mean, yes, Ginny has been off, but I thought it must have been that Bludger incident or perhaps her home situation or – I mean, I don't know, anything but inter-dimensional time travel. I mean seriously, if this stuff didn't exist, someone would have to write a book about it and cash in millions-"

"We get it, Padfoot," James said, sounding exasperated. "But _puh-lease._ Get a grip. Ginny's not the same, Marlene's obviously not the same either, in fact her name is not even Marlene, and – I mean, it's just better not to live in denial, isn't it? It's the first step to fixing this mess."

Sirius took a deep breath. "I mean, you've got to be bullshitting me!" He refused to believe it. It would turn his entire world upside down and he wasn't sure he was ready to deal with that.

At that moment, the door of the Room suddenly opened. Everyone's heads snapped in the direction of the noise. A very embarrassed looking Ginny stepped in the door uncertainly.

"What?" Hermione asked, unintentionally unkind – she was just so exhausted, good manners didn't come easy, especially since she was still mad at her friend for being so selfish. "I mean… I mean, come on in, Ginny." she said, correcting herself.

"I've been searching for you everywhere, _Marlene_ ," Ginny began. "I couldn't find you anywhere and thought you'd be here, and-"

"It's OK, Ginny," Hermione said quickly. "They know. They both know."

Ginny's eyes widened in shock, then she nodded slowly, deciding there was no time to waste getting over this fact. "That's what I came to talk to you about as well, actually. Why we're here, I mean. I've had – I've had some flashbacks, Hermione." Silence. Ginny proceeded with her revelation. "Hermione, Virginia didn't want to go to our world. Marlene had dragged her there." The others were about to announce that they knew that already, but then the redhead said something truly shocking, "And – and Lily Evans had drugged me and given me a love potion to fall in love with James."

* * *

Ginny went on to explain that she had been having flashbacks; giving into guilt, she had given slightly more power to the original Ginny, and whatever part of her had been left in her had showed her specific memories. She detailed the many arguments Virginia and Marlene had had, until the last one, the ugliest one, that ended with Marlene stupefying Virginia and dragging her to the dungeons, where she, Lily, and Lily's friends preformed the spell, though Ginny wasn't able to recall those memories very clearly.

"How do you know you were drugged?" Hermione asked after all that sunk in.

Ginny heaved a sigh. "I… I had a memory… Marlene and Lily were discussing what Lily would do if everything went to shit and their doppelgangers found out about the trick. One of Lily's friends, Amelia to be precise, had an old House Elf that worked in the Kitchens after they had disowned her to get a newer, younger one who was able to do more work, faster. Amelia had said that the House Elf was still loyal to her family, and Lily said that the easiest way to make sure we would want to stay in this universe would be to make us fall in love with someone here. She said she could ask pay it off as a prank or even just as Amelia a favor because she owed her one anyway."

"They didn't drug me," Hermione objected.

"Not you," Ginny said. "If we did manage to overcome our doppelganger's souls, then that part of their souls would die forever and they could never pass on. Switching bodies with someone is _dark magic._ I think Lily didn't want to do that to her friend... I mean, she's not as tough or evil as she pretends to be. She just doesn't want to lose face in front of her Slytherin cronies. I think she hoped that Marlene's soul would prevail over yours and she could have her friend back, in a way, you know. It's possible to exist in two places at once. Lily's really alone, you know... and I don't think she wanted to permanently destroy Marlene's soul. She was her friend, after all. She couldn't do it."

"How do you know this?" Hermione asked doubtfully.

"The shadow. I saw a shadow on the night of my arrival." Ginny said. "I thought I was hallucinating – I thought I was going crazy. That maybe it was a figment of my imagination. I thought – but it turns out, that was Ginny's soul. Her soul is able to travel, I'm not sure how, and when she's not inside me, she's somewhere else – that's why I felt no other presence for a long time, and – or I don't know how it works. I saw things that I wouldn't have seen otherwise. I'm sure it must be Ginny's soul. It's able to travel."

The boys looked dubious.

"I've read about this," Hermione said. "But that theory has been disproven."

Ginny shrugged.

"That's just what I think."

"This is a confusing mess," Sirius said. "No one even knows what they're talking about. Just a bunch of theories and nonsense – how could three teenagers preform such a complicated spell?"

"Don't forget, Padfoot," James said. "We became Animagi on our own as well. Come on – we live in a world of magic and dragons and fairies and the thing that puts you over the edge is that some witches and wizards are actually able to perform spells?"

"Not just spells, Prongs, they traveled through dimensions and back in time-"

"Forward," Hermione corrected.

"Whatever," Sirius said. "Same difference! I – I can't even –"

"You might as well try," James said impatiently, cutting his friend short. "We can't solve our problems if we keep pushing our heads down the sand."

Sirius buried his head in his palms in response. An uncomfortable silence ensued. Ginny opened her mouth to say something to ease the nearly palpable when Sirius suddenly spoke up unexpectedly, "Slughorn," he said. All heads turned in his direction inquisitorially. "Slughorn. I bet he has some Veritaserum stashed away somewhere. He has a bunch of Potions. We just need to sneak into his office, and his Potions cabinet, and then, we'll take the serum and use it on Lily and her friends."

"Alright," Hermione said, breaking the stunned silence. "But are you sure that he has some on stash?"

Sirius took a deep breath. "I'm not sure," he said. "But we've got to try, haven't we? If not, we'll make one on our own, and use it on them later on. But right now, this is our best bet."

* * *

Hermione, Ginny, James and Sirius, who was still reeling over the facts James and Hermione had revealed to them, went to retrieve James's Invisibility Cloak from the boy's dormitory room.

"Here's the plan," Hermione said. "James and I sneak in inside the Cloak, because we are shorter than you and it will fit better. The two of you will keep guard outside the door and send students away. If Slughorn comes back, keep him busy, talk to him about something relating to his class, whatever."

"How should we send the students away? What do we tell them?" Ginny inquired.

Hermione seemed to be deep in thought, then said, "I changed my mind. I'm going in to get the vials. Ginny, Sirius, you're each going to stand at one end of the corridor leading to Slughorn's office and send students away if they want to come that way. Tell them Peeves threw Dungbombs in there, and Dumbledore, say, asked you to send students away. If Slughorn comes, keep him busy, ask him questions about the curriculum, the last test, anything. Alright? You think you can do it?" The other three nodded. "Alright, and – if students don't comply, feel free to hex them. For the sake of the mission."

The three others grinned devilishly at Hermione, seeming considerably more excited about carrying out the plan now that they had been given certain liberties. Hermione marveled at how alike the three of them were, even if Ginny didn't belong in this world.

"Did you get it?" the ever-paranoid James asked; he had taken off the Cloak, leaving it solely on Hermione. 'We can't take any chances,' he had said. 'If someone does manage to enter the door somehow, I want them to catch me and not you. Keep the Cloak on you under all circumstances.' he had ordered. Hermione hadn't planned to do any differently, but did not say a word to avoid any possible conflicts. She rummaged through the cupboards, the drawers of Slughorn's desk, and said, "There's _nothing_ here," she started panicking.

"What? He usually makes – he has all these tests for the students and gives them as prizes –" James said, beginning to panic as well. Hermione rummaged some more and it felt as though a huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders when she found a glittering blue vial. "Here. Here it is. Wait, there's something else here as well!"

"We don't need that," James said, sounding worrisome.

"Wait. It's opaque – it's Felix Felicis,"

"What?"

"It's liquid luck," Hermione said, eyes glittering.

"What? Are you sure?" James asked, turning back. Suddenly the two of them became aware of approaching footsteps and Ginny's voice.

"But _sir_ , I absolutely need your advice-" they could hear her say stubbornly.

"Do you and your little friends think you can fool me? You have told everyone that Peeves left Dungbombs in this corridor, then don't let me pass through, make up ridiculous excuses – I'm too old not to see through your games, Miss Prewett! And I am warning you, if you are playing a prank on me again with your good-for-nothing friends, you'll be permanently uninvited to my parties! And you know what a missed opportunity that would be for all of you!"

"No, sir, that's now how it is at all! I just desperately wanted to talk to you about my Potions grade. They have dropped considerably, and I-"

"Yes, studying for the tests might help with that," Slughorn said unhelpfully, sounding irritable.

It sounded like Ginny chortled then tried to pass it off as a cough. Slughorn just groaned loudly.

Hermione and James quickly got under the Cloak, and held their breaths. When Ginny entered the classroom after Slughorn, who was still going off about how incredibly bad Ginny and her friends were, made sure to leave the door wide open and step out of the door frame.

"What the hell are you doing now?" Slughorn snapped, staring at the wide open door. "Didn't your parents teach you any manners? When we _enter_ or _leave_ a room, we close the door behind ourselves. Did no one ever tell you that?"

"I… Um…" Ginny was attempting to win some more time but she had no idea what she could possibly reply to that.

"Close the door for Merlin's sake, Miss Prewett!" Slughorn snapped impatiently.

"Um…" Ginny repeated dumbly. Then she felt Hermione and James brush by her as they left Slughorn's office, and, after heaving a barely audible sigh of relief, closed the door behind them. But her mission wasn't over just yet: to stall Slughorn, lest he be in need of the vials Hermione and James had taken for whatever reason suddenly, she kept talking about her grades and made up something about her familial situation to explain why she was unable to study. Slughorn looked like he had no idea what Ginny was talking about, and in fact, the story she had made up was so complex she confused even herself, but went on anyway.

* * *

"Here, drink this," Hermione said outside, a considerable distance away from Slughorn's office. "We'll need this today if we want to make sure we don't make mistakes. This is going to make us lucky."

"Are you sure?" James asked skeptically.

"Yes. You might not have learned about it yet but I have read about it already," Hermione said.

"Are you sure it's supposed to look like this? Are you sure you didn't mix things up and this isn't some poison?" James asked doubtfully.

"Obviously," Hermione scoffed. "Just drink it." she commanded.

"Alright," James said, shrugging, and drank a little. He then gave it back to Hermione. "Here. I think this will be enough for you, Ginny and Sirius."

Hermione nodded, and took a little sip. She could immediately feel the effects of the Felix Felixis potion. She felt bolder, smarter, tougher – invincible. When their eyes met, she knew that James could feel the same, and they grinned at each other wickedly.

After about fifteen minutes, they had collected Ginny and Sirius, and the two of them drowned the vial containing liquid luck.

"We have to find Evans now," Ginny proclaimed then. The other three nodded. "Where do you think she could be?" Sirius asked. As luck would have it, Lily Evans appeared moments later in their line of vision, alone, her eyes blood-shot, looking as though she had just gotten into a nasty row with someone.

"Evans!" Ginny yelled loudly, and Lily turned towards her. "We have a little something to talk about,"

Lily's eyes widened in fear, but before the other witch could run away, Ginny caught up with her, grabbed her by the wrist and started dragging her towards the Room of Requirement, in front of which now stood Sirius, Hermione and James. When Lily started struggling to free her wrist from Ginny's grasp, the brown-eyed girl said in a low, menacing voice, "I'd be careful if I were you. There's four of us and one of you."

"Like that's _fair_ ," Lily spat, eyes brimming with hatred.

"Robbing Virginia Prewett of her life was no fair," Ginny said. "Drugging me with a love potion was unfair. But you don't care about that, do you?"

Lily remained silent and went along with Ginny without needing to be dragged any longer.

"You're going to drink this," Hermione said once they were inside the Room and Lily had gotten over her shock that such a Room existed within Hogwarts and she had no idea about. The Room had transformed itself into the DA headquarters, and the four of them made Lily sit down on one of the couches. Lily's lips were quivering and the sides of her eyes glistened with tears.

"What are you going to do to me?" Lily asked, regretting her choice to go to dinner alone after a spat with her boyfriend. "What have I ever done to you?"

"Oh, you bloody well know what you have done," James snapped. "Don't even try to pretend you're innocent in anyway."

Lily burst out crying, burying her face in her hands, trembling like a leaf. "P-please… d-don't tell – (sniff) anyone what I – I've done." She took a deep breath to compose herself. "I had been just trying to help a friend. Surely you would have done the same. For a friend," she sobbed miserably.

"No, actually, I have never done the same even though my friends had had much worse things happen to them than the _divorce_ of their parents," Hermione said hatefully. She brushed Lily's hands away from her face and fed her the Veritaserum. Lily swallowed it, having given up all hope. She sobbed miserably during the interrogation that followed, looking ashamed throughout of it all.

The four Gryffindors found out that Lily and Marlene struck up a friendship once they went to detention together after getting into a fight in front of McGonagall. Even though they got off on the wrong note, working together to clean the girls' bathrooms, they eventually started talking. Marlene, desperate for friends, Lily suspected, got them in trouble several times in front of strict teachers who sentenced both of them to communal work for periods of varying lengths. Eventually, Lily, who had also been secretly longing for a true friend, gave into Marlene's wishes, and struck up a friendship in secret, both afraid of the possible reaction of their respective houses. However, even if they had to keep it secret, their friendship blossomed.

One of the things that helped them together was their communal hatred for anyone who they thought had it better than them and their inability to appreciate the things that others envied them for. While Marlene hated Virginia secretly for having a loving boyfriend and friends, Lily did it openly; according to Lily, even if Marlene tried to conceal it, she could see that the brunette relished in hearing Lily go on about what how loathsome she considered Virginia to be.

For Lily, Marlene was the first one with whom she could be honest about her insecurities; she didn't want her friends to know that she was just like them, full of fears, insecurities, and sadness. She wanted her friends to see her as everything she wanted to be but was never able to become. Pretending to be someone else, not opening up to anyone, soon got lonely, however, and had she not found Marlene, Lily said, she probably would not have been able to bear it for much longer. She suspected that without Marlene's friendship, she would have had an emotional breakdown.

When Marlene told her their plan with Ginny, much to her surprise, Marlene discouraged her from partaking. That is when Lily realized that Marlene had grown obsessed with Ginny - or rather their friendship, and refused to let go of it, or accept rejection. She lived in a fairytale; she was too idealistic; that had sort of scared Lily.

One day Marlene ran to the potions classroom to talk to Lily, where she had been preparing potions alone. Marlene told Lily that there was something wrong with Ginny, and she needed to come to help revive her before anyone found out about what she had done. Lily believed Marlene and ran to the clearing behind the Lake, only to find Ginny lying under a tree, unconscious. Marlene then told her that she needed to help them enter the other universe.

"But she's knocked out," Lily said. "You knocked her out, didn't you? Did she not want to come or something?" she cried.

"She did," Marlene snapped, but Lily knew it was not true. "Anyway, what's it matter to you? You hated her too – at least that's what you told me! Were you lying?"

"No," Lily said. "I – I do. But – but – are you sure you want to do this?"

Marlene was now pointing her wand at her. Lily, panicked, afraid of the much more powerful witch, complied with the brunette's wishes. As she performed the spell – a particularly difficult spell that she was able to perform thanks to the Felixis Felicis potion that Marlene had stolen from Slughorn's cabinet – she told herself she was doing this for Marlene's sake. Out of friendship. Out of selflessness. And Ginny – she was a bad person anyway, judging by what Marlene had told her, and Marlene had known her much better than anyone else in the entire Castle… perhaps even better than the boys…

After the spell was finished, still under the effects of the potion, she was able to get both girls back into their dormitories. She nearly got caught when she tried to escape through the Portrait Hole, but thanks to her own prowess – as the potion had worn off –, she was able to leave the Gryffindor Common Room unnoticed then return to her own dormitories. She had been living with the guilt ever since.

"You know," Lily said at the end, tears streaming down her cheeks. "You and Marlene are both brilliant. But she went crazy and used her powers to attain selfish goals. Never, ever use your powers for selfish gains. And never, ever be a coward. It won't get you anywhere."

Lily, Hermione thought, was the perfect prototype of the type of person who knew what was right but did not have the strength to change her ways and transform her life. And look where it got her, she thought, staring at the girl in front of her with disgust.

"Tell them the spell," Hermione commanded, pointing to James and Sirius. "Tell them what they have to do to get us back before the potion wears off."

Lily complied.

"I'm sorry… I'm so sorry…" she kept sobbing after she did so, looking pleadingly at Ginny and Hermione. "I didn't mean to. I didn't meant for any of this to happen the way it did,"

"Oh, of course, people never mean to hurt others," Ginny said sarcastically. "But in cases like this, intention doesn't count. And you know what they also say? The road to hell is paved with good intentions."

Before the boys performed the spell, the four Gryffindors said goodbye to each other.

"Despite everything," James said. "I was glad to meet both of you. And you're nothing like Marlene, don't listen to what this witch says," he said, referring to Lily who remained silent.

Ginny and Hermione sat down beside each other, listening to the boys chant, waiting for the spell to take effect. They smiled at each other, knowing the nightmare was over and that soon this ordeal would be nothing more than a bad memory.

* * *

A/N: Well, that's the end of this chapter, folks! Tell me, how did you like it? Did it answer all your questions or do you still have some left? (Oh, and this is not the last chapter by the way! ;)


	11. Epilogue

_Epilogue_

 **A** fter he and Sirius finished the incantation, James suddenly felt empty. He glanced at Sirius and could feel that he too could sense that the two worlds now were in a transitioning period; Hermione and Ginny's souls have departed from their doppelgangers' bodies, but the souls of the original owners had not yet returned. As they waited, they could hear Lily sobbing in the background. She sounded pitiful, and they had to keep reminding themselves that she had broken the law on several counts, used dark magic and nearly destroyed another person's soul to keep from feeling sorry for her. They just could not help it; Sirius had always had a hero-complex, which is why he had taken James, Peter, Remus and even Virginia under his wing; and James had always been a big softy beneath the muscles he had acquired from working at home on their farm and playing Quidditch.

Ginny's sudden heaving snapped him out of his reverie. The girl's eyes popped open, and then she sat up rapidly in her seat, breathing as though she had just very nearly drowned. She looked around, wide-eyed, as though unable to believe where she was. Then her eyes met James's and Sirius's. Ginny's heart missed a beat and she tried to control her breathing. She looked like she couldn't decide whether to cry or laugh, unable to determine what her advances would be met with.

The boys, relieving her of her emotional burden, burst into smiles, their eyes shining with gladness.

"Come 'ere, you damsel in distress," Sirius said, laughing, breaking the tension. Ginny ran and jumped in James's arms, then kissed him impulsively, without thinking, and for a long, long time. She would have liked to go on kissing him, but laughing embarrassedly, pulled away, looking at Sirius apologetically.

"James could _not_ wait to save you," Sirius said, messing Ginny's hair up. They were like brother and sister. "Or do _that_ ," Sirius said, referring to their previous kiss.

Ginny laughed, blushing, and James scratched the back of his head in embarrassment.

"If that's how you act in public, I don't want to know – well, about anything else," Sirius said, and they all laughed. Sirius felt awkward, and so did the other two, but the joy of being reunited made everything ten times funnier than they would have otherwise found it.

Silence. The joy soon faded away – there were so many unanswered questions. The things that had happened, however, felt … unspeakable. Part of them wanted to forget about the ordeal altogether, and a part of them wanted to discuss it to be able to fully comprehend it, and then, if possible, move on forever… All they knew was that none of them ever wanted to live through anything even remotely like the ordeal they had went through again. James did not know what he would do if he lost Ginny again; Ginny did not know how she would be able to function if she was ripped out of the life she had once hated so but had grown to love; Sirius did not know what he would do if something like this happened, and he was not there to save the day. His friends felt like family, and now he felt like had let them down. They had been through so much together… and to think that he had noticed later than James that there was something wrong with Ginny! Sure, they were in love… but Sirius had always felt like a father, or at least a big brother to them. To have them save themselves instead of relying on him made him feel unneeded. But, he realized, he had to face the fact that the once lonely, helpless children he had taken under his wing had grown into teens who knew how to take care of themselves. It was all thanks to him, and Sirius knew he was supposed to feel happy, but he would always miss the kids they had once been, and the times they once had. He knew, after this, things were going to change forever.

Then, the three of them could hear Marlene stir. Their heads immediately shot in the direction of the noise. Marlene, just sat there, knowing that her plans had been foiled, that her time was over, and waited for her final predicament. She knew there was no way to escape what she had done – for the first time in her life, she was forced to admit to herself that the reason her life was the way it was because of things she had done. This time, she could not blame her actions on anybody else. The things that had happened were solely her own doing. The unbearable feeling of responsibility and guilt weighed down upon her, and it hurt, infinitely so.

* * *

Hermione and Ginny woke up in the same room.

"This is Grimmauld Place," Ginny said when they woke up, sniffing the air. "I can even smell that Kreacher's been here,"

Hermione giggled, "Ginny, don't be so mean! That House Elf feels terrible enough as it is. Don't add to his misery,"

"Well, maybe he shouldn't be such an arse then," Ginny mumbled, but Hermione just shook her head. She was so glad to be back, Ginny's insults towards the poor House Elf she felt so much pity for could not anger her sufficiently to get into a debate as they normally would have. She could feel the difference between the atmosphere of Virginia and Marlene's world, and her and Ginny's. She could immediately tell that they were back in their rightful places in the universe. She felt, now, that everything was going to be OK.

Ginny attempted to open the door. "They locked us in," she said, then looked around the room. "They've probably taken our wands too,"

Hermione looked horrified. "What do you think had happened?" she asked.

Ginny shook her head. "I don't know," she said, then she started banging on the door furiously. "Let us out! HARRY, RON, MOM! LET US OUT!" she bellowed. When she got no response, she started slamming herself against the door with full-force. It wouldn't budge. She went on like that for a while before all the strength had kept herself together left her. She was just a fifteen-year old girl. "Let me out…" she stopped trying to force the door open, collapsing on the floor. She had been through hell and back, and now she just wanted to return home, see her family, friends, and the boy she was in love with again.

Hermione just stood there, thinking, that things like this barely affected her anymore. Sometimes, she had not been glad of her fate, but now she was grateful for all her bad experiences as they had toughened her up. She sat down beside Ginny, putting an arm around her, trying to soothe her… "They'll be here soon…"

"What if we're not even at home? What if this place is not even-?"

Before Ginny could finish her complaint, however, they could hear the door unlocking and the two quickly sprang to their feet. All trace of sadness and misery were immediately gone from Ginny's face; she was a strong girl, Hermione determined, who had their moments of weakness just like anyone.

In the doorway stood Harry. The two girls, yelling his name euphorically, jumped in his arms. "Harry! Harry! Finally!"

* * *

Virginia got her wand out, and pointed at Marlene, " _Stupefy_ ," she said, simply, coldly, her eyes so cruel that James barely recognized her. This experience had toughened her up, he could already tell; the Ginny he knew had never before had the capacity to be so cold, so desperate was she for love and acceptance she had been, having never gotten it at home. _Now_ , James thought, _she's finally realized that there are some people not worth spending our time on; not worthy of our love; whose opinions do not matter._ James felt a swell of pride in his chest. Ginny was finally on the way to becoming emotionally healthy. Then she turned to Lily and did the same as she had to Marlene, smirking in satisfaction.

The two boys stared in astonishment. Ginny blushed slightly but she could not hide the enjoyment from her face. "What disgusting pieces of filth those two are," she said, no longer able to hide her grin. "Before we leave this Room," she then said, becoming serious, her grin fading from her face. "We have to decide what we're going to do about these two nitwits. I want you to be part of the process because you helped me get back here and I'm eternally grateful to you," she said.

"It's just what friends do," Sirius said, deflecting the compliment.

"Yeah, don't be grateful," James said. "You would have done the same for us,"

Ginny just smiled, unable to feel anything but thankful for two such good friends. Oh, what a complete fool she had been to ever want to leave this world behind!

"Now," Ginny said, trying to shoo the unpleasant thought away. "Ask me all your questions, and then we'll decide how to proceed."

James and Sirius asked them the only thing they wanted to know: "Why didn't you tell us you had problems? Did you not trust us?" At the question, Ginny suddenly felt ashamed. How could she have been foolish enough to believe Marlene about the boys? That they just wanted a piece of ass? How could she have been so easily influenced? She decided to choose her friends better next time.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I thought… I didn't know what I thought. I was at an all-time low. I didn't want anyone to find out about what had happened to me."

"So you told _Marlene_?" the boys were aghast.

"I told Marlene because she had told me lots of stuff about her parents' divorce and reckoned she would not tell anyone because I knew plenty of things about her too," Ginny said. "Please understand that I was not thinking clearly around that time. I was depressed, even suicidal, and… I just really wanted to talk to someone who would _understand_."

"What happened?" Sirius asked. "Did the situation with your parents really get that bad?"

"And did you really think Marlene would _understand_?" James could not hide his passionate hatred for the witch who had made his love go through hell.

Ginny rolled her eyes, then wiped the sides of it. "Fine. I'll tell you everything."

And she proceeded to do just that. Ginny told them that her parents' relationship had been dysfunctional since the time she and her sister were born, and the past two years it had started getting even worse – which she would not have thought possible before – until it hit rock bottom and her father eventually moved out. Once, in the middle of the night, she awoke to her parents arguing, screaming wildly at the top of their voices like savages and throwing plates on the kitchen floor. She tried to fall back asleep, as that in itself was nothing abnormal in their household. She almost managed before her mother emitted a blood-curdling scream and then Ginny heard her falling to the floor like a bag of potatoes with a loud thud. Ginny knew she had to intervene. She got out of her bed, taking her wand with her, and disarmed her father. Her mother then began screaming at her, telling her she was a fool, calling her an ungrateful child; she didn't even thank her for her help. The next day, when her mother was away shopping, her father, in a fit of rage, punched her, giving her a black eye Molly laughed about; at dinner, everyone treated her like a pariah despite what she had done for Mrs Prewett.

Ginny said that she had reached her breaking point; for years she had endured verbal humiliation, slight shoves and pushes, which was bad enough, but never had to suffer brute force before. The worst part of it wasn't even the physical pain, but the humiliation that she then put through by her family. She spent most of the summer at Marlene's.

"Your life was so perfect," Ginny told James. "I thought you were too good for me. I thought you'd never want anything to do with me if you found out just how messed up my family was. I thought you'd get scared and not want a relationship. So I broke it off before you could break my heart,"

The sides of James's eyes were glistening with tears.

"But then you wouldn't leave me alone. And I loved you so much I couldn't help but let you back into my life. I was messed up, so messed up… When I moved back, the verbal attacks started again. Once, when I stood up for myself, my dad punched me again. I guess he thought it was fair game. You see, Mom doesn't want a divorce; she says it's shameful. She says _I'm_ shameful for having slept with a boy who didn't ask my hand in marriage before," she said, looking at James.

"She's crazy. Absolutely crazy." Ginny went on as the two boys stared in shock. "She would stick by my dad and endure physical and verbal pain because she's been brainwashed by her equally idiotic parents! My _grandparents_! They say a woman must endure… that's a woman's job… Merlin!" Ginny shook her head disgustedly, a shiver running down her spine. "Absolutely horrible, the lot of them. And I kept waiting for them to change, trying to change for them, but… I mean, I have never hurt anybody. Never done anything wrong, at least not intentionally. And one day I just thought, why the hell do they hate me so much? I haven't done anything I should be ashamed of. I haven't done innocent people any harm. And then I also thought… if they already treat me as a criminal, I might as well be one. So I started plotting my escape."

Ginny recounted how she had used the Cloak and went to the restricted section, thinking that there was surely some way she could either turn back time or travel dimensions. It had been Marlene's idea to travel dimensions. "Our families aren't messed up because of us. Even if we did go back in time, our problems wouldn't be magically solved. We have to leave this mess altogether. Our lives _suck_."

"I didn't know whether I wanted to go that far or not. Far away from my family, back at Hogwarts, I started getting better though, even despite Marlene's constant negativity. I realized that there were plenty of things about my life that were good. For a while, before we got back to school, Marlene shut up. When we got back and we started hanging out again," she was referring to herself and the boys, "she went crazy. She called me ungrateful, selfish and vile. I tried to be her friend but she was so nasty. She kept insulting me. She declined all my invitations to Hogsmeade or even to hang out with you. She liked being miserable, I think, or at least that's the impression I got sometimes. But I don't think she knew how to be anything else, really. Something broke inside of her when her parents divorced… and she could never put it back together."

Ginny shook her head. "She wouldn't give up about traveling time and dimensions either. She kept badgering me about how she was going to go with Lily Evans if I didn't go with her – oh, yes, she told me about how they became best friends, expecting me to be jealous and then getting mad when I told her I was happy for her –, but I knew it was a load of bull. She didn't want to go with Lily Evans, she wanted to go with _me_."

"I realized she had a fixation on me, around that time," Ginny said. "But I felt so sorry for her and I mean, she was still my friend and I didn't want to tell anyone just how crazy she was. I didn't want to be that kind of friend, you know. So then one day in August she told me that through Lily's mother's connections they got into the Department of Restricted Knowledge, and stole the research on the subject. She tried to convince me one last time to go, but I said I didn't want to. Then she knocked me out and had Lily perform the spell on us."

"The spell went exactly as planned, and that is when I realized she was completely crazy. We arrived in a world where an all-powerful dark wizard named Voldemort was on the rise. 'Finally,' Marlene had said, 'We have something to live for. We have friends who love us and a families that support us. What more could you wish for?' She had apparently always wanted to live in a world full of adventure. She always thought herself to be the hero of her own story that no one ever wrote down. _Pathetic._ I mean, I had grandiose dreams of saving the world when I was like, 10, too, but I mean I eventually grew out of it because peace is so much better than war, even if you get to be some sort of hero if you partake and die in one.

Before I could tell the others what had happened, however, she wiped my memory. My last memory was of the time I was still debating whether to travel universes with Marlene or not, and then she convinced me that I had wanted to go with her, just that the spell didn't work out well and I had lost some of my memories. She also told me you helped us perform the spell and since I couldn't remember anything and I remembered her as a good friend, I believed her, initially, though I was a bit wary.

Slipping into the role of Ginny Weasley was easy. She had great friends, played Quidditch like me – in fact, was a lot like me – and most of all, had a loving family. I envied her so, so much. But it felt wrong. I eventually started getting flashbacks of this place. Her memories. It felt like I was in two places at once. I started going crazy. About two days ago, I remembered everything, and cracked. I told everything to a boy named Harry, who looked just like you, except for the eyes – in fact… you were his father in that universe, and you married Lily Evans…"

"What?!" James's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets as he laughed in disbelief. "Are you kidding me? Just how messed up _was_ that world?"

"Very," Ginny said, smiling sadly. "But… maybe it was because of the war, maybe something else, but they were all so… good. So nice. I really grew attached to the people there." Then she shook her head. "But it was not my home. And if those people could find happiness in the times they lived in, I realized, once again, that then I could find happiness in my messed-up world too. I wanted my life back."

* * *

"We had been vary of her for some time," Harry told Ginny. "You're alterego, in fact. The other one – Hermione's doppelganger – was… well, she gave a love potion to Ron, so whenever I tried to discuss Hermione's strange behavior he just told me she was in love and that I should not worry. Eventually, she put a love potion on me as well, to make me stop suspecting her of anything… but we only realized this after your alterego, Ginny, cracked and told us everything one day. That was about two weeks ago. We then took their wands away and tried to figure out what happened to them and how to reverse the spell. We were preparing to break into the Ministry soon to steal the files from the Department of Restricted Knowledge.

 _It was so, so messed up…_ "

* * *

"When they found out who I was, they did not believe that I hadn't wanted to partake on this mission and blamed me for taking Ginny Weasley's body. They locked me in a room with that wretched Marlene, and I swear, once, she nearly killed me. If Harry Potter didn't come in and save me, she would have succeeded… they bound her to the bed, as there were no other beds available during the Holiday season in their home, and left me with her. Not that they really cared about our accommodation, either, obviously. Sadly they didn't gag her mouth and she kept going on about what a terrible friend I was. I thought I'd commit suicide if I had to stay there longer with her. But they were so suspicious of us, and of me, even, that they didn't really care about our mental states… God, it was a horrible, horrible time."

The boys had no more questions. "So… what do we do now?" Ginny asked, but she could tell she and the boys were thinking the same thing. _Revenge._

* * *

"I don't get one thing, though," Ginny said. "How did part of my memories get wiped? We never figured out, did we, Hermione? And why did you have that distinct memory of us wanting to switch universes?"

"See," Mr Weasley said, throwing a bunch of documents on the table, "The answer lies in here. Sometimes, souls and bodies take time to sync. You may lose memories, and you may gain some from the one you changed bodies with. You may become more like them due to the change as well due to this. It's _very_ dangerous."

"Are our souls whole now?" Hermione asked. "Ginny said that she saw a shadow on the wall on the night of her arrival, and several other times, that she suspected to be Virginia Prewett's soul,"

"Yes," Mr Weasley said. "Your souls are intact; in fact, they have always been intact because you were on the receiving end of the spell. If you would have done it, and the part of your soul inhabiting your original body would have been destroyed, you would have been forced to live until eternity in the form you saw Virginia's soul appear in. That would have been your punishment – being that less than ghost thing, unable to communicate, spending the rest of your life in misery and alone, would have been your punishment for dark magic; a direct consequence of cutting up your soul."

"What happens to the people we switched bodies with? One of them – Virginia – did not want to go through with the spell but her so-called friend stupefied her, and performed the spell on her anyway. What happens to her?"

Mr Weasley pulled a face. "I don't know. There are no records of here – this is a restricted branch of magical study, girls. Further testing in this domain is forbidden, and it's normally kept under lock and key. Lily Evans's mother must have been a very, very influential person in the magical world if she was able to get them a permit to visit that Department."

"Oh, yes," Hermione said with a smirk. "Her mother was the Minister's secretary."

"They were rumored to have an affair," Ginny said. "She could have gotten them anything with just a lift of her skirt."

Harry looked uncomfortable. They were talking about his mother's family, but not really - a concept he found it hard to wrap his mind around, understandably.

"So, anyway," Ginny said, changing the subject quickly. "Do you not know what'll happen to Virginia, Dad? She was innocent. I'd hate for her to-"

"No, Ginny, I don't know," Mr Weasley said, sounding a bit exasperated. "And life isn't always fair. We cannot take on everybody's burdens and solve everyone's problems for them. You had done all that you could, which was returning her to her original world, a world which she had never truly wanted to leave. That was your part in her story. Let her live her life now, and forget this ever happened. It was never supposed to. It should never have. It's best, perhaps, to forget about all of it, don't you think?"

* * *

"What if you don't get your soul back, Ginny?" James asked worriedly as they were throwing pebbles in the lake at sundown. They had already talked with McGonagall and Dumbledore. McGonagall, who had secretly always wanted to become Minister for Magic, encouraged them to extract revenge and promised she would help them achieve their goal. She had immediately expelled Lily and Marlene and forced them to leave the premises.

"I don't know, James," Ginny said, trying to hide her misery. "I guess it only means that I will have to live every day as a blessing before I become a freakin' Shadowperson."

James did not want to think about that. He did not want to think about his beloved having to live the rest of her life as a mere shadow of her former self.

"We can't let that happen," James said. "It's _not_ going to happen."

Ginny threw another rock into the Lake angrily. "I will not waste my time thinking about things I can't change anymore. I used to do that and I got depressed, remember? Dwelling on things you have no control over is a sure-fire way to want to kill yourself, mind you. I want to live in the _now_. Concentrate on the good things about my life. Try to make the best of everything I have. Don't treat me like such a victim! I mean, even if bad things happen to me, they don't define me. My strength does. The fact that I got through it all. And I'm going to share my story with the rest of the world. I'm done trying to pretend everything's OK when it's not in an attempt to save face, wondering what people would think about me if they knew – look where that got me."

James remained silent. Ginny threw another rock into the Lake, then turned to James. "Sharing my story is the only way I can help people. And I want to. I've been through too much to want anything but happiness for everyone. Only unhappy people hurt others."

James still didn't say anything. "Whatever you chose, I'm going to stick with you through it all." And that was the greatest confession of love Ginny had ever heard.

Three months later, Ginny's account of the ordeal got published in the form of a book.

 _Ripped Souls,_ the title said. On the back, a review by Albus Dumbledore - who had been promoted from Professor of Defence Against the Dark Arts to Headmaster after Minerva McGonagall became Minister for Magic - read:

 _'_ _This real-life account by Virginia Prewett is a story that teaches a lot of lessons. It shows how easy it is to go from victim to perpetrator. It demonstrates the consequences of trusting the wrong people, and the dangers of desiring love and acceptance too much. But most importantly, it shows that our problems are often only as great as we make them out to be, and that happiness can be found in even the darkest of situations, if only one remembers to turn on the light.'_

The End


End file.
